


Fixit

by FluffyPizzaPie



Series: Fixit Series [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Gen, Mishmash of all Transformers series, half crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-13 10:17:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 51
Words: 66,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12981918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffyPizzaPie/pseuds/FluffyPizzaPie
Summary: You know, I never had any great ambitions in life. All I wanted was to fix stuff till my dying day…and I did. Then I woke up as a giant metal alien robot, a so-called "drone" (also known as "cannon fodder"). Gee, thanks Primus. This'll go so well. At least there's plenty of stuff to fix... (Mostly TF Prime) [Starts off fairly dark, but lightens up later]





	1. Death

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story several years ago, and haven't touched it since. My writing quite clearly matures over the course of the fic. Enjoy.
> 
> Also, the quotes at the beginning of each chapter are Fixer and Primus talking to each other. Just FYI.

_“You caught my attention a long time ago, youngling. I was impressed by your resilience…among other things.” ___

__

__

__“Hey Fixer, where’re ya? There’s…someone…here ta see ya!” a deep, usually calm voice came over the radio._ _

__“Fixer” Drow paused at the call, noting the unspoken warning in her old friend’s voice. She carefully held the torch away from her and grabbed the walkie-talkie off her worn belt. “Alright, I’ll be right there! Just let me finish this weld!” she called back to her boss from where she was standing over her latest restoration project. At the acknowledging click, the albino clipped the radio back onto her belt and brought the blowtorch back to bear on the heap of scrap that was beginning to resemble a car once more._ _

__Back in the decently-sized office of his junkyard, James Callahan reluctantly turned back to his visitor. “Ya do realize she’s not gonna be happy ta see ya, righ’? She was mighty pissed at ya fo’ pulling tha’ disappearin’ act...an’ all the shit beforehan’, as well. Ah’m mighty pissed at ya, fo’ tha’ matter. Wha’ kinda brother does shit like tha’ ta their own twin?”_ _

__Soren Drow sneered at the greying veteran, turning his otherwise attractive features into something ugly. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, bastard.”_ _

__“It is ma’ business if ya intend ta drag the poor girl inta more shit tha’ she’ll end up takin’ the fall fo’ again,” Callahan rumbled dangerously, his amber hawk-like eyes glaring at the career criminal._ _

__“Like it’s any of your business what I choose to do with my pathetic bitch of a sister.”_ _

__Callahan twitched._ _

__

__

__Fixer strode into Callahan’s office, muttering to herself as she attempted to wipe off her dirty pale hands on a rag. Not that it was doing much good, given that the rag, made from an old ripped G1 Ratchet T-shirt of hers, was just as dirty as she was. She sighed, finally giving up on cleaning her hands and looked up. She was greeted with a disaster zone, and the sight of Callahan’s massive figure attempting to strangle a slender, dark-haired man on his office floor._ _

__Her eye twitched. “James Marshall Callahan, what the hell do you think you’re doing!?” she roared as she chucked the rag at them, startling both of the men. “How many times do I have…to…” she trailed off, staring as Soren slowly stood up, watching her carefully with his piercing blue eyes._ _

__They stared at each other silently, barely noting Callahan eventually moving to slide by Fixer. “Ah’ll be righ’ ou’side if ya need me. Goo’ luck,” the redhead muttered into her ear. He cast one last warning glare at Soren before leaving, slamming the door behind him with a loud bang._ _

__Silence reined, the only sound being the evening breeze blowing through the window as it rustled the papers strewn all over the floor._ _

__Soren took a hesitant step forward. “Reina…”_ _

__“Fixer.”_ _

__“W-what?”_ _

__Her red eyes glittered dangerously. “My name is Fixer now, BlueJay, not Reina.”_ _

__His lips thinned as he realized she wouldn’t fall for the regretful brother act anymore. “Fine…Fixer. If you’re so attached to that stupid name, you can go ahead and keep it.”_ _

__The albino crossed her arms defensively, glaring at the fraternal twin she hadn’t seen in almost ten years. “Why did you come back? I was managing perfectly fine without you ruining my life all the time.”_ _

__He ground his teeth together, balling his fists at his sides, before flashing a tight, bright grin. “What, a brother can’t come check up on his baby sister?”_ _

__“Funny, I don’t remember you caring when you tried to sell me to that pimp.”_ _

__“…That was then, this is now,” he ground out, visibly restraining himself from attacking._ _

__Fixer hummed, running an appraising eye over him. His dark red suit and black shirt, while of fine make, had obviously seen better days. It was torn, patched, and dirty, and hung a little too loosely off of the man’s frame. She could see the edges of bandages peeking out from his collar and left arm, and he was avoiding putting weight on his right foot as he watched her with a desperate, angry gleam in his cold blue eyes._ _

__“…not so fun taking the fall, is it BlueJay?”_ _

__He growled. “My name is Soren…Reina.”_ _

__She narrowed her eyes. “Fine…Soren. What do you want? And don’t try to feed me a line about you caring, I know better than that.”_ _

__He huffed, crossing his arms as well, only to lower them with a genuine wince of pain. “…I need your help.”_ _

__“…I have been arrested 17 times, been shot, electrocuted, stabbed, and poisoned more times than I can remember, almost drowned 3 times, and nearly sold as a sex slave because of you…and you expect me to help you?” she whispered menacingly._ _

__Stupidly, the man didn’t even pause to consider his response. “That’s the only reason you exist, bitch. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your place already?”_ _

__Fixer snapped._ _

__

__

__“And stay out, you fraggin’ bastard!”_ _

__Callahan wheezed, tears of mirth and joy streaming down his rough, scarred face as Fixer bodily threw the freshly-bruised Soren out of the brightly-lit gate. Her strong, wiry figure chucked his bag out after him, and Callahan collapsed in a fresh fit of laughter as it knocked the bastard back to the ground again. The albino shut the gate roughly and chained it shut as the man scrambled back to his feet in the darkened street, cursing impressively._ _

__“You fucking bitch! How dare you attack me! Apologize right now, you fucking maggot whore!”_ _

__Fixer’s only reply was a raised finger. She spun and walked away, leaving Soren gaping behind her at her eloquent reply. Callahan was twitching on the ground in silent hysterics now, slowly turning blue from lack of air._ _

__The white-haired woman came to stand over the quivering mountain of a man. “Breathing would help, you know,” she said wryly, watching the laughing form of the retired soldier who saved her ass fifteen years ago fondly. “Otherwise, you’ll definitely suffo…cate…”_ _

__She trailed off, swaying slightly in shock as Callahan jerked and scrambled upright, echoes of the gunshot still ringing out around them in the dark night. She fell, dimly aware of Callahan catching her and yelling something over her head. The world spun, graying around the edges from the pain. Callahan’s voice wavered in and out, begging her to stay with him._ _

__“…old on, Fix…n, help is…ay wi’h me, Fi…”_ _

__She caught sight of the broad hand cradling her face, covered in something bright red…but what…?_ _

__Oh, she thought calmly, that’s blood. My blood._ _

__Mustering up the last dregs of her strength, she reached up and weakly grasped the redhead’s hand. Fixer smiled softly. “S’ok. S’not you faul’…”_ _

__Callahan was crying, she could feel the tears hitting her rapidly numbing face. “…on’t go, plea…”_ _

__“S’rry…” she mumbled, her eyes drooping. “L’ve oo…Da…”_ _

__Her world went black._ _


	2. Oh Slag

_“Use this second chance well, youngling…good luck.”_

__

Fixer jolted back to awareness with a sudden start. She stared up at the ceiling blankly, trying to recall her dream. _I think…it had a giant robot? A…Transformer, right, he called himself…Prime? No, maybe Prima? No, that doesn’t sound quite right either…eh, whatever. It was just a dream, nothing bad’ll happen if I don’t remember…it…why is the ceiling metallic and shiny?_

She pushed herself up, intending to look around...and froze as she caught sight of her body. Scuffed purple and black metal extended out from around her waist, ending in a broader base…feet. Slowly, she raised her hand in front of her face, only to be met with more metal and long, sharp claws in place of fingers. Shakily, with a growing sense of horror, she lifted the pointed digits further and carefully brought them to her face…only to be met with smooth, featureless metal. She slid the digits up farther, till they obscured her vision and, trembling, traced the outline of a single V-shaped optical band.

Carefully, she stood up, absently noting that the room she was in resembled a mad doctor’s lab, and headed over to the bench where she could see something shiny glinting in the creepy lighting. Trembling, her hand reached out and picked up the polished piece of metal, slowly bringing it up to eye-level. Her vents _(vents?)_ hitched as she stared at her reflection.

_W-what…happened-?_

__

_Oh, she thought calmly, that’s blood. My blood._

_Mustering up the last dregs of her strength, she reached up and weakly grasped the redhead’s hand. Fixer smiled softly. “S’ok. S’not you faul’…”_

_Callahan was crying, she could feel the tears hitting her rapidly numbing face. “…on’t go, plea…”_

_“S’rry…” she mumbled, her eyes drooping. “L’ve oo…Da…”_

__

Fixer went very, very still. _Oh. I…died, and…then what? How did I wake up here, looking like a…what were they called again? Oh, right, a Vehicon from Transformers…Prime…oh, slag. Please don’t tell me…_

“Oh good, you’re up. That means you can get back to work,” came a voice from behind her.

Slowly, stiffly, pleading with whatever sick and twisted deity was up there to not let her see who she thought that was, praying that this was just a bad dream, Fixer turned around.

__

_Fraggit! I hate my life!_ Fixer wailed internally as she replaced burnt circuitry automatically. Behind her, Knockout and Breakdown were chatting idly as the blue, orange-faced mech buffed the already absurdly shiny medic. _I wish this was a dream, but it’s too detailed to be one of my dreams! And if I had to get stuck in a Transformers series, why couldn’t I at least have gotten stuck in G1? I know next to nothing about the plot of TF Prime, I’ve only seen a couple of episodes whilst babysitting Callahan’s little niece! Furthermore, WHY THE HELL DID I GET STUCK AS AN ERADICON?! I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT FLYING!!! AND IN EVERY SINGLE EPISODE I SAW, THE DRONE DEATH RATE WAS ABSURDLY HIGH! FRAGGIT, I’M FUCKING CANNON FODDER! I’M GONNA DIE!!!_

_Maybe if I stay under the radar, just keep my head down and blend in…OH WHO AM I KIDDING I’M GONNA DIE! Okay, no, stop, freaking out isn’t doing any good…Hoo…breathe…wait no don’t breathe, Cybertronians don’t need to breathe, just…calm…_

_Sigh._

_Well, at least I have the memories of the drone that existed in this body before me. Boring and unimaginative though it might have been (seriously, I haven’t found one original thought yet, and I’ve covered several years already!), it at least knew Cybertronian, as well as basic knowledge about the Decepticons in this continuity. I wouldn’t have been able to follow what Knockout’s instructions otherwise, or make as much headway on these repairs as I have without that knowledge, but holy Primus, Cybertronian is complicated. That- Primus! Son of a rat-faced, shit-sucking whore, the Cybertronian in my dream was Primus! He’s the reason I’m stuck in this body, he has to be? Who else would be capable of such a thing-!_

“Well, you’ve certainly made a lot of headway,” Knockout said from _right fraggin’ behind her! Primus!_ “I must admit, when I requested a drone to help me repair some of the equipment damaged in the explosion, I didn’t expect it to be much help. Instead, you’ve almost completely finished my job for me.”

Fixer paused in the middle of her internal freak-out and focused back on the table. Apparently, her subconscious had fallen back into its old habit of fixing everything in reach whilst she was thinking. She did it on purpose back in the shop, falling into a meditative state and letting her body working without conscious direction. It might have been weird, but she was faster, more efficient, and did better repairs that way, for whatever reason.

“Umm…” _Frag, what can I say that won’t sound suspicious?! And wow, is that deep thing actually my voice? I sound like a guy!_ “…I like repairing things?”

Knockout hummed thoughtfully. Breakdown groaned. “No, Knockout…whatever you’re thinking of, no. You know Starscream won’t approve it.”

“He’ll approve it if he wants quality medical repairs for himself. If I have this Eradicon take over the maintenance on the other drones, that’ll leave us free to make the more complicated and time-consuming repairs and maintenance we haven’t been able to do in a while,” Knockout said as he walked towards the door, gesturing the big blue mech to follow and already composing a message to send to Starscream over the comm.

“And it’ll leave more time for racing?” Breakdown said dryly.

“Yes, well, that too. You, drone!”

Fixer jerked to attention. “Sir?”

“Stay here and finish the repairs.”

“Y-yes, sir.” She watched carefully as the two walked out, slumping back down onto her stool after the door closed behind them. _…frag. Well, so much for staying under the radar…_

__

“Ah, Herr Commandant. So, what do you think of my proposal?” Knockout said as he walked onto the bridge, Breakdown still trailing him.

“Well, doctor, I think it’s a very interesting proposal. However, I fail to see why you need two assistants. After all, you already have Breakdown,” Starscream rasped out, turning to face the other mech.

“Well, yes, but the both of us are so swamped in routine maintenance on the drones that we have little to no times for other…projects.”

“Projects like…oh, say, racing, for example?”

“Well, I, uh…actually, I was referring to the project you wished me to start,” Knockout said triumphantly. “There’s been so much maintenance to do that we haven’t even gotten a chance to start it.”

“Hmm.” Starscream regarded him suspiciously. “Very well, you may have the drone as an assistant. But I expect progress on the project to be made. If there is no progress in fifteen cycles, the drone will be assigned back to the mines. Understood?”

“Of course, Commander,” Knockout said smoothly, hiding a victorious smirk. “I understand perfectly.”

__


	3. Homesick

_“Even had I not reached out and “snatched you up like Callahan does spiked hot chocolate,” my dear…I’m afraid that it was highly unlikely you would’ve ever seen any of your family again. You see, when you were killed, your twin destroyed your bond at the same time, forgetting that it would effectively kill him as well, and cast both your souls adrift in the Void between worlds. Had I not “snatched you up,” well…you would no longer exist, just like your twin.”_

 

Fixer stared quietly at her two superiors as they argued, apparently forgetting she was there. Knockout wanted to go out racing, but Breakdown didn’t want to risk pushing their luck so soon after getting a concession from Starscream. Eventually, Knockout won, and both of them left, though not before the red doctor gave Fixer a giant pile of things to fix.

The human-turned-Eradicon gave them a good fifteen minutes- just to be sure they were actually gone- and then got up, walked into one of the private exam room, and curled up in a shaking, trembling heap of metal.

_I’m never going home!_ she wailed internally, having made sure to shut off her vocalizer before having her breakdown. Ha, breakdown, like, like Breakdown, but not-! Her trembling increased as she keened mentally. _I’ll never see any of my family again! Not any of the kids at the playground, not their disapproving parents, not Raymond, not Marie, not Callahan or Popcorn! Callahan’s my father in all but name, even if Popcorn was the one who had custody of me after he saved me from my brother and the path I was on! But, but, but…I…I love both of them, they’re the only people I ever looked up to, and I’ll never- *sob*- never see either of them ever again…DAMN YOU, BLUEJAY!! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HELL, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO RUIN MY LIFE?!?! I WAS YOUR FUCKING TWIN, YOU SHIT-FACED BASTARD!!! I LOVED YOU SO MUCH, I WOULD’VE DONE ANYTHING FOR YOU, BUT ALL YOU DID WAS USE AND ABUSE AND HATE ME TILL I HATED YOU AS WELL!!! I WAS FUCKING TWENTY-SEVEN BY THE TIME I HAD GOTTEN OVER EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME ENOUGH THAT I COULD ACTUALLY START TO LIVE…AND THEN YOU COME ALONG TEN YEARS LATER AND TAKE EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME AGAIN!!! DAMN YOU!!!!!_

Fixer’s vents were working overtime as they strained to cool her overheated, agonized frame down. Her helm was buried in her knees, her servos gripping it so hard she was actually starting to dent the metal. But apart from being a shaking ball, there were no other outward signs of her agony. She had learned to hide her emotions a long time ago, even from those she loved: she’d learnt that lesson the hard way. The closer they were to you, the more it hurt when they betrayed you. Callahan and Popcorn were the only ones who’d ever managed to be an exception to that rule, but even they didn’t know everything…although she had been planning on telling them a week from when she was killed. Just another thing BlueJay had managed to ruin for her…

She grieved for another fifteen minutes before she was finally able to think clearly again. _BlueJay may have taken away what happiness I had managed to make for myself as a human, but one of the few things I remember Primus telling me is that my twin no longer existed…which means he can’t ruin this life. Just watch Callahan, Popcorn- I might take a while, but I will make the most of this life. Partially to spite BlueJay, partially to make you proud…but mostly I will live for myself, and my happiness, like you always were telling me to. Well, now I will. I will live for myself…for you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, but necessary chapter that wouldn't fit anywhere else.


	4. Time-Skip! & Renaming

_“You intrigued me because you fixed things, youngling. Not just machines, but minds and people as well, despite your own damage.”_

**1½ years later…**

“Stupid fraggin’ glitchy impossible piece of scrap!”

Breakdown automatically ducked as he walked in and heard Fixit cursing. Fortunately, she had thrown the aforementioned piece of scrap the other way. 

He vented softly as walked over to Knockout, who was leaning against the wall with a cube of energon in his servo, enjoying the show. “What impossible task did you set the poor mech this time?”

“I told him to fix Ravage,” Knockout chuckled, sipping his ration idly.

“Soundwave’s deactivated Deployer?! How the frag did you get him to agree to that!?”

Knockout hesitated, carefully not looking at Breakdown.

“…KO, please tell me you got permission to let Fixit try and repair Ravage.”

“Well…”

“Fraggit, Knockout! Soundwave’s going to murder us! You know he’s never let anyone else touch his Deployers, and how the frag did you get Ravage’s corpse anyways!?”

“…Soundwave’s supervising the mine today?”

Breakdown just stared at his partner in mute horror. “…that’s it, I’m taking his chassis and putting back before Soundwave comes back and offlines us all.”

“Wait, Breakdown-!”

“YEEEEEEEEESS!!! VICTORY IS MINE- wait, no, fraggit don’t you slaggin’ dare fall back offline you fraggin’ corroded toaster!” Fixit cursed, servos frantically flying over the Deployer.

Knockout and Breakdown gaped.

“…did he just…?”

Knockout nodded slowly. “…he did.”

They stared at each other for a long moment before springing into action, helping Fixit stabilize the newly-revived Deployer.

 

Fixit flopped down at her desk in exhaustion. She, Knockout, and Breakdown had worked for five straight joors to stabilize Ravage. The only reason she was still with him and not in recharge was because someone had to be there to monitor him. Knockout and Breakdown had to go figure out how to report that Ravage was back online, so they couldn’t watch him, which left her as the only qualified medical personnel.

_Who would’ve thought that I would go from being a human mechanic to a Cybertronian medical apprentice- after I died!? How things change…I still remember the day KO offered to officially teach me…and renamed me while he was at it, not that he knew that…_

 

**6 months after WUAAE (Waking Up As An Eradicon)**

“Fraggin’ glitchy spawn of a rusty toaster and a malfunctioning tractor…” Fixer muttered as she poked and prodded at the Vehicon on the table in front of her. “Fraggin’ blenders have more sense than you lot…”

Knockout chuckled from where he just finished repairing his own Vehicon. “They do tend to blow themselves up a lot, don’t they?”

“So long as they don’t blow me up with them…there, you’re done. Now get out my- I mean, Knockout’s- medbay, and don’t let me see you in here again. And actually be careful when mining, you glitch-heads!” she yelled after them in her now-deep voice. No matter how many times she heard it, it was always weird hearing such a deep voice in place of her previous raspy contralto. She kinda liked it, though. It was a pretty sexy voice. Now if it just came from an actual guy instead of her, she’d love it.

Knockout watched her thoughtfully as she started helping Breakdown clean up. As he was currently the bot with the least amount of medical skill, he was assigned the less damaged patients and as such, finished quicker. 

“What’s your designation?” Knockout asked out of the blue. Fixer shuttered her optics a few times at the unexpected question, pausing in her work to watch the vain mech pull out his buffer and fancy wax (again).

She pointed mutely at herself in question. Knockout rolled his optics and nodded his head. Breakdown just vented, shaking his helm at the two of them.

“Umm…” Fixer dug into her body’s leftover memories from the previous owner. “…my designation’s F11X-1T, sir.”

“…so…Fixit. Appropriate. You are rather obsessed with fixing things,” he said drolly, idly buffing himself.

Breakdown and Fixer both stared at him oddly, then glanced at each other. Breakdown started nodding slowly. “Yeah, I can see that. Fixit. It suits you.”

Fixer stared at them incredulously. “Seriously? Fixit?”

They shrugged. “Why not?” Breakdown asked, going back to cleaning.

Fixer thought about it for a couple of klicks. “Eh, whatever. Fixit it is.” _It’s close enough to my old name that I’ll probably respond to it anyways,_ she thought wryly.

“Well, now that that’s out of the way…Fixit, would you like to be my Apprentice?” Knockout asked in such a nonchalant voice that it took both Breakdown and the newly-(re)named Fixit a klick to figure out what he just said.

“…huh?” Fixit said weakly.

Breakdown glitched.

 

Fixit chuckled fondly at the memory. After Breakdown got over the sheer shock of Knockout actually wanting to teach instead of racing or buffing himself, he agreed that it would be a good idea. He wasn’t interested in learning any more medical stuff, he was happy as a part-time nurse and destroying stuff the rest of the time. However, he had also noticed how quickly Fixit learned…and how much she enjoyed it.

Honestly, Fixit had no idea how Knockout had gotten it past Starscream, but once she had agreed to become KO’s Apprentice, he and Breakdown had painted Apprentice-level medical insignia on her shoulder plates. Apparently most medics had medical insignias indicating how much training they’ve had, although only Apprentices were required to wear them. (Fixit later found out from Breakdown that this was a smoking heap o’ slag; KO just wanted to be able to tell her apart from the other drones easily.) Knockout was entitled to common doctor’s insignia, but chose not to because he “didn’t want to ruin his beautiful paintjob.” Typical KO.

Fixit vented lightly, the closest approximation to a cybertronian sigh she had found. Sometimes she missed being human, but there were definite advantages to being cybertronian.

 **1\. Almost every part in a cybertronian body is replaceable.** That means that no matter how many times the drones accidentally blew up some energon, unless it hit something vital, she (and KO and Breakdown, ‘cause she was pretty attached to them by now) were pretty much guaranteed to survive.

 **2\. Cybertronians were longer-lived.** Fixit actually couldn’t recall a bot from any of the continuities she knew about having died from old age. Becoming grumpy and cranky (Ratchet and Ironhide) as they were as old as the Pit, yes, but they never actually died from old age. Most bots were usually killed in the war before they got that old.

 **3\. They could survive (and function) effectively in most environments.** No more almost drowning!

**4\. They-**

Fixit was jolted out of making her mental list at the sound of the monitor alarms attached to Ravage going off. She shot up and raced over to him, scanning him frantically, only to relax slightly when it became clear the cybercat was just waking up. She stepped back slightly, making sure she wasn’t looming over him. Last time she had done that, back when he was still online, he had perceived her as a threat and only his remaining injuries prevented her from being shredded. Knockout had purposefully forgotten to warn her of that, and laughed his aft off at her frightened yelp and subsequent tumble to the ground. She had replaced his normal wax with sparkly green-stained wax in retaliation. He still hadn’t realized it was her who did it, either. Fixit FTW!

Seeing as Ravage was getting pretty close to waking, Fixit commed Soundwave. **:Commander Soundwave, Ravage is waking up. You want to come down here and keep him calm so he doesn’t try to shred me- again- when I have to check on his condition…again. Please?:**

 

**On the Bridge…**

“…oh! And we’re also running low on scrap metal…”

“Oh for-! Knockout, I don’t care about the state of the medical supplies, that’s your job! Send a list of what you need to Soundwave and let me get back to running the Decepticons!” Starscream snapped after listening to Knockout ramble for a good fifteen minutes. The shiny red doctor hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to tell Starscream and Soundwave that Ravage had somehow been accidentally revived- especially Soundwave. He had been…touchy, or what passes for touchy with Soundwave, ever since Ravage had gotten crushed in that cave-in 6 months ago and left him with Lazerbeak as his only surviving Deployer.

“Ah, wait, but-!” Knockout protested nervously.

“Oh, honestly!” Breakdown groaned, fed up. He didn’t notice Soundwave stiffening as he received a message. “Starscream, Soundwave, somehow we accidentally-”

He was cut off as Soundwave literally sprinted off the command deck, leaving all three officers in his dust.

“…what the frag?” Starscream gawked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not see Cybertronians as having gender, only different frame and spark types. All frame/spark types can kindle a newspark, but some sparks can kindle and bear the strain of a newspark far easier than others- aka a femme spark. When everyone refers to Fixit as a he, they’re really just using the most common cybertronian pronoun without gender connotations, which translates best as “it” in English. But “it” suggests something that isn’t actually alive, so they just tend to use “he” instead.  
>  Fixit, on the other hand, was born human- a female human. That’s one part of her mindset that’s never going to change: she will always think of herself as female, even though she knows, as a medic, cybertronians technically don’t have any gender. That’s a personal choice on her part, especially since she’s no longer human and is dealing with this sudden change all on her own- after her own twin killed her. I think she’s entitled to keep at least one thing the same in both of her lives…


	5. Ravage Returns

_“I do not normally interfere in affairs that do not involve my children. But you see, I have an offer for you, one that if you accept will affect my children…”_

 

“Good vicious rabid cybercat…please don’t maul me while I check on your condition…”

Soundwave burst through the doors to medbay, startling both its current occupants, and froze. There, lying on the berth, poised to attack the medical drone trying to scan him, was his first and oldest symbiont. Soundwave crossed the room in four long strides, bypassing the drone completely and scooping up Ravage. The cybercat hissed in protest, but Soundwave swiftly silenced him with a firm mental command as he cradled his symbiont to his chest plates carefully, mindful of his injuries.

He could feel Ravage’s bafflement, and basked in the fact that he was alive to be baffled at all even as he updated the cybercat on what had happened. Ravage was shocked, stilling in Soundwave’s arms. As he did so, Lazerbeak detached from his host’s chest and curled himself around his brother, flooding their sibling bond with love, relief, joy, and affection. Slowly, reluctantly, Ravage relaxed in his host’s arms, and even deigned to nuzzle Lazerbeak slightly in reassurance. Soundwave cradled his precious symbionts tightly but carefully, shaking slightly in relief. He didn’t know how it had happened, but somehow he had Ravage back…and he refused to lose him ever again.

 

Fixit just kind of fidgeted awkwardly, not really sure what to do or where to look. On one hand, she wanted to give Soundwave and his symbionts some space (the bond between them in the G1 series was much more obvious than it was here, but it was evidentially still there). On the other hand, her medical programming (courtesy of KO) was going nuts, her patient had just come back from the dead and still had serious injuries she needed to check him over now!

Wincing mentally, she deliberately scuffed her pedes on the floor. All three of the bots in front of her froze.

“…I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but Ravage still has serious injuries. Now that he’s conscious, I need to check his systems and make sure everything’s running normally, as well as repair more of his injuries…if he’s well enough, after I work on him you can take him back to his quarters, so long as my instructions are followed?” she ended slightly nervously, aware that the silent mech in front of her hadn’t moved at all while she was talking.

Finally, he moved, placing Ravage down gently on the berth and stepping back…slightly. Fixit, relieved, moved forward to begin scanning the symbiont only to have him hiss at her.

“Oh hush, just let me do my job in peace and then you can maul me after you’re all fixed up,” Fixit snapped in exasperation, scanning the smaller mech. She was unfazed by Soundwave hovering over her shoulder, she would’ve been surprised if he hadn’t hovered. Frankly, she was amazed he was letting her work on him at all, considering he had only just gotten the cybercat back.

 

Unbeknownst to her, while she had been talking, Soundwave had been reviewing the surveillance tapes from the medbay and discovered that the drone had been the one to somehow revive Ravage. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but decided to let the drone look over his symbiont. He doubted that it would go to the trouble of bringing Ravage back only to turn around and offline him during the same cycle. He wasn’t sure, however, hence why he was hovering. If his hovering bothered the drone any, though, it didn’t show it.

Soundwave watched carefully as nimble, upgraded medical servos danced lightly over his symbiont, making swift and skilled repairs. He registered the medbay doors opening to the right of them, idly noting Knockout, Breakdown, and Starscream come in and stop in their tracks. The drone apparently didn’t even notice them coming in, he realized as he lightly brushed over its (surprisingly complex-feeling) mind. It was too focused on its task, its mind blank of everything except that which pertained to the repairs it was making.

 

_…if a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide, is that a hostage situation?_ Fixit thought idly, utterly bored now that her conscious mind had receded to let her subconscious fix the glitchy-toaster-in-the-form-of-a-cat. _I dunno…maybe…I suppose it depends on if all of the personalities agree on that course of action or not…_

She was just contemplating how women could go from angels to devils and back again, and how fun it was to terrify the males around them when it happened, when she felt something brush over her mind. She started, thinking for a brief instant that it was BlueJay, but calmed slightly when she realized it wasn’t him. And then she went into a full-blown panic, because if it wasn’t her twin, the only other being that could touch her mind was a telepath and Soundwave was a telepath! Frag!!!

She winced, waiting for the pain…only to mentally blink in bafflement as his presence left, giving no indication that he had heard her thoughts. _What? Why wouldn’t he…oh. OHHH! He can’t read my conscious mind because my subconscious is in control! Before BlueJay permanently blocked our bond, he could never contact my conscious mind whilst my subconscious was in control, and if my own twin couldn’t do it, then there’s no way Soundwave would be able to either! ...Holy frag, I can hide things from Soundwave! That means it’s possible no one will ever find out I used to be human…huh. Not sure how I feel about that…_

 

“How did this happen!?” Starscream screeched, living up to his name. “The cat was offlined, I saw its body myself!”

“Ah…we’re not actually entirely sure,” Knockout admittedly warily as he watched Soundwave hover over Fixit’s shoulder. He was not happy with the TIC of the Decepticons being that close to his apprentice. If he hurt him…

“What do you mean, you’re not sure?! You’re the one who brought him back, aren’t you?”

“I…yes, but I’m not entirely sure what happened. I was working on his frame, turned around to get a tool, and accidentally knocked a cube of energon onto his frame. I was in the middle of cleaning up the spill when I noticed the Deployer was back online, and immediately called my assistants to come help me stabilize him. I honestly don’t have any idea how he came back.”

Starscream seethed, turning to glare at the TIC. “Soundwave, is this true!?”

KO’s intakes hitched slightly as he tossed Breakdown a glance, preparing to grab Fixit (slagging drone who can’t focus on anything but repairs) and run…

“…I honestly don’t have any idea how he came back,” Soundwave quoted, playing back a recording of Knockout’s words. 

Knockout shuttered his optics in shock, unable to believe his audios. Beside him, Breakdown was just as astonished. Did Soundwave just cover for them?!

Starscream snarled. “Well then, find out how it happened!” he snapped as he stalked out of the medbay.

Knockout and Breakdown barely noticed his departure, still staring in stunned silence at Soundwave. The grey and purple communications officer just tilted his helm slightly before turning back to Fixit as he finally finished with Ravage.

“Right, that’s all I can do for…now…” the mech trailed off as he finally noticed the lingering tension in the room. He canted his helm to the side in a curious motion. “Did something happen?”

KO and Breakdown facepalmed. Soundwave and his Deployers just stared at the Eradicon slightly incredulously.


	6. Knock Out is Protective and Soundwave is a Stalker

_“I’m so sorry, youngling...but you died. Your twin shot you.”_

 

Fixit trailed down the hall after KO and Breakdown as they headed to the rec room, attempting to ignore the way most of the (visible) cameras swiveled to focus on her. Ever since she had somehow brought back Ravage, Soundwave had been…well…stalking her. Everywhere she went, the cameras would follow her. Sometimes, Lazerbeak would follow her as well. (Never Ravage, though; Soundwave apparently wasn’t ready to let him out of his sight just yet.) And Soundwave himself, when he wasn’t on duty, would come down to the medbay and just watch her. One second, she’d be working on something, turn around to grab a tool, and BAM! There he was, just looming right fraggin’ behind her and staring creepily!

He came and went without her noticing, occasionally standing against the far wall if she had something particularly difficult to work on. But most of the time, it was just simple repairs, and so he’d stand literally inches away from her. (She actually got out a ruler, one time, and deliberately measured the distance between them before holding it up accusingly to his screen. Then she turned around and went right back to working. She had no way of knowing for certain, but she suspected that she had just amused him.) The only time he never showed up in medbay was when Knockout and/or Breakdown were in there with her, so she had taken to following one or both of them around whenever she could. It didn’t stop the cameras from watching her, but it did keep Soundwave and his symbionts away from her, and that was good enough for now.

Unfortunately, the stalking had made her already testy temper worse. The drones only came to get repairs because they knew it would be worse for them if she had to come and hunt them down…and she would. Fixit was firmly of the opinion that a healthy and happy workforce was more productive, and since there was little she could do about the happy part, she just settled for making them as healthy as she could.

Both Breakdown and Knockout had noticed her worsening temper, but when they tried to question her about it she just told them to “go away before I bite off your fraggin’ glitchy excuses for helms” in a matter-of-fact tone. Wisely, they let it drop, but she still caught them watching her worriedly from time to time. She had gotten pretty close to both of them during the year and a half she had been on the Nemesis. However, Breakdown seemed to be a pretty hands-off kinda guy. Unless she came to him for help or he thought she was in danger, he was willing to leave her alone. Knockout, however, was apparently a worrier when it came to his friends. He never outright asked her what was wrong after that first time (no matter how obviously he wanted to), but he was spending more and more time around her. And since that only helped to keep Soundwave and his little minions away, Fixit was more than happy to cling to the shiny red doctor.

 

Knockout discretely kept an optic on Fixit as he chatted absentmindedly with Breakdown, sharing a worried glance with his partner as his Apprentice twitched again. Neither of them were blind; they could easily tell Soundwave had taken an interest in the Eradicon. It was fairly obvious, considering the TIC wasn’t even attempting to hide the fact he was watching the mech. Although neither had seen Soundwave with Fixit, several times, one or both of them would come back to the medbay and pass Soundwave walking in the opposite direction…and every time that happened, Fixit was always even twitchier than before. It didn’t take a genius to figure the faceless mech was taking advantage of their absences to hang around the Eradicon without disturbances. What they couldn’t figure out, however, was what Soundwave thought he was doing by pressuring Fixit like he was. The poor mech was getting more and more stressed by the cycle, although he had yet to make a mistake in his work. But if this…stalking continued much longer, eventually even Fixit would start making mistakes. And then…well, Knockout didn’t really want to think about what would happen then. Honestly, his Apprentice was just as much of a perfectionist as the Constructicon Hook…and that was a really scary thought, Knockout didn’t think the universe could take two Hooks. At least Fixit hadn’t shown any inclination towards dissecting mechs…yet…and ok, Knockout really needed to stop thinking like that, he was liable to give himself a panic attack.

He and Breakdown walked into the rec room to grab their ration of energon, Fixit following him so closely he could feel the other’s vents. Normally while Knockout wouldn’t tolerate this behavior from anyone- they would scratch his paint!- Fixit had shown himself to possess very fast reflexes, even whilst fixing things, and was capable of avoiding damaging his paintjob. Also, the mech was so stressed out that KO was reluctant to scold him for doing something that obviously made him feel better. And while the clinging was a little annoying, a stressed-out Fixit was even more so, so really, Knockout was just choosing the lesser of two evils. (He flatly refused to admit to himself that he was even the tiniest bit worried and scared for Fixit. Nothing good ever came of gaining Soundwave’s interest.)

 

Soundwave stared at the vid feed of Fixit practically welded to Knockout’s back as the three medical personnel walked into the rec room, idly stroking Ravage as he did so. The cybercat was also watching the feed carefully, curious about the drone who had revived him. He had enjoyed freaking out the drone by attempting to maul it before occasionally, but paid it little notice before it brought him back. 

Lazerbeak, on the other hand, was just exasperated with the both of them. There were much more subtle ways to go about stalking the drone, ways which would require much less effort and be much more effective. All the blatant stalking was doing was making the drone paranoid, causing it to be much more secretive. It would be much harder to find out how the drone had brought Ravage back if it was scared.

Soundwave knew Lazerbeak had a point. After Ravage was first revived, he had started stalking the Eradicon everywhere, but had planned to back off after a while…and then Fixit began to give as good as he got.

 

Soundwave stared at the drone’s back as it focused on repairing the arm on the table before it. Skimming its thoughts lightly, he found only the usual all-consuming focus on repairs. Unless the drone did something totally unexpected, this was the last time the TIC planned to spend looming over its shoulder. Allowing himself to vent slightly, Soundwave withdrew almost completely from the drone’s mind…only to freeze as its entire mindscape abruptly changed. Carefully, not letting the drone know he was still in its mind, he slowly delved back into its mind to listen to…its…thoughts…?

>   
>  …mooed we must fight, escape or we’ll die
> 
> Cows gathered round ‘cause the steaks were so high.
> 
> Bad cow pun.
> 
> But then he was captured, stuffed into a crate
> 
> Loaded onto a truck, where he rode to his fate.
> 
> Cows are bummed.
> 
> He was a scrawny calf, who looked rather woozy
> 
> Nobody suspected he was packing an Uzi.
> 
> Cows with guns.
> 
> They came with a needle to stick in his thigh
> 
> He kicked for the groin, he pissed in their eye.
> 
> Cow well hung.
> 
> Knocked over a tractor and ran for the door
> 
> Six gallons of gas flowed out on the floor.
> 
> Run cows run!
> 
> He picked up a bullhorn and jumped up on the hay
> 
> “We are free-roving bovines. We run free, today.”
> 
>  
> 
> We will fight for Bovine Freedom
> 
> And hold our large heads high.
> 
> We will run free with the Buffalo
> 
> Or die-ayyyyyy
> 
> Cows with guns.
> 
>  
> 
> They crashed the gate in a great stampede
> 
> Tipped over a milk truck, torched all the feed.
> 
> Cows have fun.
> 
> Sixty police cars were piled in a heap
> 
> Covered in cow-pies, covered up deep.
> 
> Much cow dung.
> 
> Black smoke rising, darkening the day
> 
> Twelve burning McDonalds
> 
> Have it your way.
> 
>  
> 
> We will fight for bovine freedom,
> 
> And raise our large heads high.
> 
> We will run free with the buffalo,
> 
> Or die-ayyyyyyy.
> 
> Cows with guns.
> 
>  
> 
> The President said “Enough is enough,”
> 
> “These uppity cattle, it’s time to get tough.”
> 
> Cow dung flung.
> 
> The newspapers gloated, folks sighed with relief
> 
> Tomorrow at noon, they would all be ground beef.
> 
> Cows on buns.
> 
> The cows were surrounded, they waited and prayed
> 
> They mooed their last moos, they chewed their last hay.
> 
> Cows outgunned.
> 
> The order was given to turn cows to whoppers
> 
> Enforced by the might of ten thousand coppers
> 
> But on the horizon surrounding the shoppers
> 
> Came the deafening roar
> 
> Of Chickens in Choppers.
> 
>  
> 
> We will fight for Bovine Freedom
> 
> And hold our large heads high
> 
> We will run free with the Buffalo
> 
> Or die-ayyyyy-ayyyy-ayyyyyyyyyyyy
> 
> Cows with Guns.
> 
>  

Soundwave mentally gaped at the absurdity. What the frag? One moment, the drone was focused on nothing but repairs. The next, it was singing some song about organic prey animals fighting humans…and winning!

He was jolted out of the drone’s mind as it turned around and jumped, again, upon seeing him behind it. It bit off a half-formed curse, as per usual. But then, after staring at him in mounting frustration for a nanoklick, flexing its servos in a manner eerily reminiscent of someone strangling a hated nuisance, it turned and began searching over its desktop for something. Soundwave was slightly confused by the drone’s actions, but realized with a small amount of relief that the drone didn’t realize he overheard its…song…loath as he was to call such an inane piece of nonsense a song.

The drone let out a small, victorious “hah!” and turned to face the TIC once more, holding up…a piece of metal with regular, even markings on it. Soundwave watched in mild confusion as it held the metal between their bodies, marking the distance, before bringing its servo up to wave the metal accusingly in his face. Abruptly, Soundwave understood what it was doing, and was hard pressed not to laugh out loud as the drone flicked its wings dismissively before turning and going straight back to work. The slagging thing was telling him off for being too close! Never in all his vorns as TIC of the Decepticons had he met someone brave enough to literally scold him for freaking them out! The fact that the mech never even once said a word whilst doing so just made it even better!

Soundwave was so amused by the Eradicon’s actions that he decided not to back off. There was very little to do on this tiny planet, especially since they were avoiding any and all contact with the Autobots. That, and he wanted to see what the mech would do if he pushed it even further than he was already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is _Cows With Guns,_ by Dana Lyons.


	7. The Plot Begins

_“Unfortunately, youngling, I cannot give you any more knowledge of the future than what you have seen whilst babysitting young Marie for fear of the resident telepath accidentally finding out said information…you’ll have to make it up as you go along, so have fun with that!”_

 

“Stupid fraggin’ mutated blowdryer…slaggin’ ‘Creamer…Pit-Spawned Unicron-damned energon deposits…” Fixit muttered irritably as she fixed yet another Vehicon. Ever since they had started mining this latest, massive energon deposit, there had been much more work than the Decepticon medical personnel had been used to having. Knockout had barely had any time to race, and he made sure everyone knew it. Breakdown had resorted to offlining his audios in order to continue working without losing his temper, and Fixit was sorely tempted to copy him. Only the fact that Knockout kept expecting her to reply kept her from doing so. But he doesn’t expect Breakdown to answer, no…

“There, you’re done, NOW GET OFF MY FRAGGIN’ TABLE AND DON’T LET ME CATCH YOU IN HERE AGAIN! ACTUALLY USE YOUR MELTED GLITCHIN’ EXCUSE FOR A PROCESSOR YOU MORON!!!” she bellowed in her deep voice, waving her wrench threateningly as the last Vehicon to be repaired beat a hasty retreat from the medbay.

Breakdown chuckled from where he was leaning against a table as Knockout rolled his optics. “I swear, you get crabbier and crabbier the longer I know you,” KO vented in fond exasperation, shaking his helm.

“C’mon, KO,” Breakdown grinned. “You know he wouldn’t be Fixit unless he was crabby…”

“Ha ha, so funny I forgot how to laugh…” The black and purple with aqua trim Eradicon (Knockout had insisted on a repaint; no Apprentice of his was going to look anything less than fabulous, thank you very much!) twitched her wings irritably as she began cleaning up. “Shoo, go get energon and recharge before you collapse. I’ll finish up here.”

The two older mechs frowned, visibly torn. “You sure you’ll be alright…?” Knockout asked hesitantly. His Apprentice had calmed down considerably as of late, even though Soundwave had yet to stop his stalking.

Fixit gave KO a fond glance, although since she didn’t have a face he couldn’t tell. “I’ll be fine, you two. Go on.” _Soundwave’s not going to hurt me unless he feels I’m a threat to the Decepticons, which I’m not. Which is more than I could ever say for BlueJay. Soundwave’s a lot more…polite, too, about his stalking. I just had to get used to being watched pretty much 24/7 again. It was easier than I thought, too, despite the fact I hadn’t seen BlueJay in 20+ years._

“…alright, we’ll leave you to it then,” Breakdown said gruffly, herding Knockout to the door.

“If you need anything, you comm. me immediately, got it?!” the shiny red motherhen called back worriedly as he was ushered out.

“Sir yes sir, mister motherhen sir!”

“Oi-!”

Knockout’s indignant response and Breakdown’s rumbling chuckle were cut off as the doors closed behind them.

The human-turned-Eradicon laughed softly as the door shut behind her new family. _Silly fraggers…I’m so glad I have them. See Cal, Pop? I’m finally starting to live again…I hope you’re proud. Despite the fact that my new family are technically “the bad guys,” but whatever. I still have a family._

 

Fixit glanced up as the medbay doors opened, preparing to lecture yet another idiotic scrapped toy racecar with three wheels- and dropped her wrench in shock as Knockout and Breakdown lead in drones carrying the body of a red, horned mech she had never seen before. “What the-?”

KO glanced over at her before he started directing the drones to place the obviously offline chassis in one of the back rooms. Breakdown came over to her as she snatched up her wrench. 

“Breaks, what happened? Who is that…er, was that?”

Breakdown vented softly. “That…was the Autobot Cliffjumper after Starscream was through with him.”

“…oh.” They watched Knockout getting increasingly irritated with the drones as they kept misunderstanding what he wanted from them. To be fair, KO wasn’t exactly being clear about his instructions either…but they were Decepticons. Fair wasn’t exactly in their vocabulary.

“…I thought we were, I dunno…avoiding the Autobots?”

“…You’re not the only one who thought that. But he apparently stumbled onto one of our minor energon mines.”

Fixit groaned. “Oh don’t tell me…at least half the Vehicons are scrapped beyond repair, aren’t they?”

“And the other half are walking scrap heaps, yep!” Breakdown chuckled at her whine of misery. “Have fun fixing them!”

“Wait, what?” she glanced at her uncle-figure. “Aren’t you and Knockout going to help?”

The orange-faced mech grimaced. “Nope. Starscream’s called an officer’s meeting. Which means you get to fix all the glitchy blenders on your own!”

“Noooo…Knockout, don’t abandon me to deal with these slag-headed idiots all on my own!” Fixit wailed, latching onto KO’s arm as he walked over to them.

“Hey hey hey, watch the paint!” the medic yelped, batting her off. “I just waxed myself!”

“I knew it! You do care more about your paintjob than me!”

“What, it took you this long to figure it out? And you call the other drones idiots…”

“Sayth the mech who walked around for an entire day with a sign on his back saying “Worship my shiny and gorgeous metal aft! You know you want to!” without noticing.”

“That was you!”

“It doesn’t have to be my handiwork for me to point it out to you.”

“You’re the only one on the Nemesis with the resources and the inclination to pull a prank like that.”

“Ah, but you don’t have any proof it was me.”

“You’re the only one who could’ve done it!”

“Still not hearing any proof…” Fixit sang.

Knockout spluttered indignantly as Breakdown just laughed at the both of them. “C’mon, KO, we need to get going or we’ll be late.”

“Fine, but this isn’t over!” the shiny mech pointed accusingly at his Apprentice.

“Bring it.”

Knockout huffed and stalked out of medbay…displaying the sign tacked to his aft that read “Too Sexy For My Armor.”

Breakdown snorted, clapping a hand over his mouth as he struggled not to laugh out loud and give the prank away. Fixit would’ve grinned if she could. As it was, she dimmed one side of her optical band in a wink before prancing off to fix yet more Vehicons.

“Hurry up, Breakdown!” Knockout called back to his partner.

“Coming!” he replied in a slightly strangled voice, trying to send a reprimanding glare to Fixit and failing miserably as he left.

Fixit cackled softly to herself, thoroughly unnerving all the Vehicons in the vicinity. They all edged away slightly from the crazy mech, bar the one she was working on, who desperately wanted to be on the other side of the Nemesis. The medic was scary!


	8. Lord Megatron

_“It is my hope that in addition to fixing my children, you yourself will find happiness…but whether you will or not is entirely up to you.”_

 

Knockout frowned as the Vehicons pushed the slab carrying the Autobot’s corpse out of his medbay. He knew Starscream wanted to present the corpse to Megatron to hopefully remain on their Lord’s good side, he didn’t have a problem with that. No, the reason he was frowning was because he had no idea how Megatron would react to Fixit. He hoped that their Lord would allow the Eradicon to remain as his Apprentice…but Megatron’s behavior had been erratic even before his absence. There was no telling how he would react. 

“Hah! No, wait…no, that won’t work…grr…stupid Autobit…”

Knockout chuckled softly as he turned to face Fixit, who was working at the table he had just up and claimed two years ago. His wings were twitching slightly as he focused intently on repairing the weapon of one of the Vehicons deactivated by the Autobot before it died. He watched his Apprentice fondly for a couple more minutes as he wrestled with the “stupid slaggin’ irritatin’ spawn of a Roomba and a glitched VCR that existed only to irritate him.” And then a low chuckle from Breakdown caught the red mech’s attention and made him realize the blue mech had caught him being sappy again. Knockout straightened indignantly, turning back to his own work with a huff in an attempt to hide his heating faceplates…although he was careful to angle himself so he could see Fixit’s reflection.

Fixit, lost in his work as per usual, continued cussing out the equipment in front of him. Breakdown wandered into the reflection with a mischievous grin, moving to stand right behind the muttering Eradicon. He slowly leaned down, right next to the oblivious mech’s audio, and-

“BOO!!!”

Fixit shrieked, jumping so badly he went right over his entire desk as he lashed out automatically. The other two mechs burst out laughing, Breakdown having leaned back instinctively right after he yelled. Their laughter just increased as Fixit popped upright from the opposite side of the desk, where he had landed with a loud clatter.

“WHAT THE SLAG, YOU GLITCHHEADS!? WHAT THE FRAG WAS THAT FOR?!” the Eradicon screeched, chucking wrenches at the both of them. The partners ducked automatically, still laughing their afts off, although Breakdown, being closer, didn’t quite manage to get down in time.

“Totally…worth it!” the orange-faced mech gasped out, clutching the edge of Fixit’s desk in order to remain upright. Fixit made a frustrated noise, his wings vibrating indignantly as he made strangling motions in front of himself. Knockout just laughed and laughed.

“Go rot in the Pit, both of you scrapheaps!” Fixit stalked out of medbay with an obscene hand gesture, causing his superiors to laugh even harder.

 

Fixit stalked into the rec room to pick up her energon ration, wings still aquiver. _Fraggin’ bastards’ll regret that…oh yes, how they will regret it…MUAHAHAHAHA!!!_

She paused, taking in the fact that every Vehicon nearby had shuffled at least five steps away from her. “…I said that last part out loud, didn’t I?” she asked sheepishly.

“...MUAHAHAHAHA!!!” Soundwave played back at her from where he was collecting his own ration. 

Fixit facepalmed. “…I don’t suppose you’d be willing to forget you ever heard that?”

Soundwave just tilted his helm slightly as Lazerbeak trilled in amusement from his shoulder and Ravage rumbled at his pedes.

“Right, stupid question, intelligence officer, of course you won’t forget…” the medic muttered irritably to herself as she continued forwards to fetch her own ration, only to stop as Soundwave didn’t move. “Sir, could you please move away from the energon dispenser so I can grab my ration?”

Soundwave looked at her for a moment longer, then turned, filled a cube, and handed it to her. Hesitantly, she reached out and took it, looking at him oddly. “…thank you? I guess…” She stared at him a moment longer before turning and walking away, her wings betraying her confusion. Soundwave’s helm tilted again as the silent mech watched her walk out.

 

Fixit walked back into medbay, still pondering Soundwave’s odd behavior, and automatically headed to her desk to continue working. _He didn’t try and get close to me at all…probably because we were in public, I guess. But then, why did he hand me energon? It’s not poisoned…I checked…although I can’t really think of a reason for him to poison me, but he is the Decepticon spymaster, his reasons don’t necessarily have to make sense to anyone but him and Meg- Lord Megatron, I need to get used to calling him that now that he’s here…wait, does that mean the plot’s going to start soon?! Frag! Okay, note to self, try and avoid conflict, I don’t want to be cannon fodder…and why do I get the feeling Knockout’s half-worried, half-exasperated with me again?_

Fixit looked up…and up…and up. Burning red optics looked back at her with a raised optic ridge from the other side of her desk.

 

Megatron watched in mild amusement as the drone Knockout had claimed as his Apprentice yelped in shock and tumbled backwards off its stool. Apparently it had only just noticed he was there.

There was a slight ‘smack’ of metal behind him, almost completely muffled by the drone falling to the ground. He glanced behind him and noted that both Knockout and Breakdown had facepalmed in unison. Oh yes, he was definitely amused now. Even Starscream looked faintly exasperated, almost as if he was used to this. Soundwave appeared to be the only one unaffected, but he had known his TIC long enough to note the faint signs of amusement. Interesting.

His attention was brought back to the drone as it nimbly leapt to its pedes…far more nimbly than he could recall any other drone being. Then again, Knockout had said he had upgraded the drone so it would be better capable of fine work. He supposed it wasn’t too far of a stretch to assume those upgrades were not just limited to servos.

“S-sir, Lord Megatron sir! I apologize, I didn’t see you there sir!”

Megatron vented mentally, waiting for the rest of the groveling apology…and was met with silence. It dragged on for a minute, making most of the mechs in the medbay uncomfortable, until the former gladiator finally broke it. “…and?”

The drone shifted, its wings twitching slightly in confusion. “…sir?”

Megatron raised an optical ridge. “That’s all you’re going to say? That you simply didn’t see me there?”

“…y-yes, sir.”

“No groveling apologies?”

“I…no, sir.”

“Why not?” Megatron asked, genuinely intrigued. Also, the longer he talked with the drone, the more and more nervous Knockout and Breakdown seemed to be getting. It was amusing.

“…because I highly doubt it would do anything other than make you even more irritated with me, sir?”

“And why might you think that?” 

“Because groveling is highly annoying. Sir.” the drone said flatly, its wings twitching slightly in irritation.

Megatron stared at the drone for a minute before he started rumbling, unnerving everyone but Soundwave. Eventually, the rumbling transformed into low chuckles, and then full-blown laughter. The drone reset its optical band, glancing at Knockout and Breakdown in confusion. They looked just as baffled as it was, though. Starscream was just gaping at him.

“My-my Lord?” the Seeker asked in confusion.

Megatron waved his SIC off, his laughter quieting. “Well said, well said. Very well Knockout, you may keep the drone as your Apprentice. I expect it to work hard, though, or back to the mines it goes. Understood?”

“I- yes, my Lord. I understand,” Knockout clearly didn’t though, obviously still baffled by his behavior.

“Good. Starscream, come. I wish to see this massive energon mine that you are so proud of. I will talk to you later, Soundwave.”

“…yes, of course, my Lord Megatron.” Starscream, also still confused, followed Megatron out after Soundwave inclined his helm in recognition.

The three medical personnel were left staring in utter bewilderment after their Lord, but snapped out of it by the sound of a picture being taken. They jumped and whirled to look at Soundwave, whose screen briefly displayed their lost and confused faces before the image faded. The TIC stalked out of the room, the doors closing behind him on Fixit’s indignant “OI!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I realize Megatron is acting OOC here. Most of the time, he’ll be the grumpy, evil Megs we all love to hate, but I highly doubt that he’d be like that all the time. Most of the time, yes, but all of the time? In the show, we only ever really see him interacting with beings he dislikes- which is pretty much everyone except Soundwave. Fixit, on the other hand, is just a drone. He has no feelings about her one way or the other right now, and as such won’t necessarily always be all…well…Megatron towards her. For now.


	9. Dark Energon and The Macarena

_“…I honestly do not know how dark energon will affect you. You will inhabit one of the bodies of my children, but humans are my brother’s offspring, even if he believes them to be parasites. You, as a species, are inherently chaotic- the effects of dark energon will vary from individual to individual because of that inherent nature. The only way to find out how it will affect you is to come into contact with it…something that you seem less than eager to test.”_

 

“…and it just attacked the drones, ripping them to shreds!” Starscream paced around the medbay as he ranted. “I can see the potential for an unstoppable army, but that’s only if it can be controlled! And even Lord Megatron acknowledged that…that thing…was nothing but a mindless beast whose only instinct was to destroy! It’s not possible to control something like that!”

Knock Out and Breakdown glanced at each other worriedly. Neither of them liked the sound of reanimated corpses killing them all.

“Oh relax, will you? I highly doubt Lord Megatron would go around making Zombies willy-nilly without some way to control them- destroying his living soldiers is hardly beneficial to him,” Fixit said calmly, idly stripping wires.

“Oh? And I suppose you would know best, of course,” the Seeker sneered. 

If Fixit had optics, she would’ve rolled them. “If making one Zombie offlines two of his soldiers, eventually he’s going to run out of followers. Plus, from what you said, the Zombie was relatively easy to take out with a sword. The only way they’d be truly useful in combat is if there were a lot of them, but unless our Lord finds a way to control them, making that many would effectively offline all of his army on Earth. And you said it yourself, Zombies are mindless beasts- Lord Megatron needs cannon fodder, yes, but he also needs soldiers who are capable of thinking. It’s not possible to run an entire army alone.”

“I suppose…” Starscream glanced at her curiously. “You’re…oddly insightful for a drone.”

“It’s called logic,” the Eradicon said dryly. “I know it’s hard to use, but the results are really worthwhile.”

“Because you would know all about logic, Mister Macarena,” Knock Out said sourly, glaring at his Apprentice. Breakdown and Starscream growled at the reminder of one of Fixit’s more…elaborate pranks.

 

**1 year after WUAAE**

“Sooooooo booooorrrrrred,” Fixit whined, spinning on his stool. The mech had modified the seat to spin specifically to annoy Knock Out, which amused Breakdown to no end. It was so entertaining to watch his partner and his Apprentice constantly try to one-up the other, whether it be through banter or pranks. Knock Out had just successfully pulled off a prank (no one on the Nemesis would ever be able to look at whipped cream the same way ever again), so that meant it was Fixit’s turn to pull a prank. And while KO might be pretty creative, he had nothing on Fixit. (Mentioning anything to do with the human tradition of Valentine’s Day was forbidden. Everyone had enthusiastically approved that- even Soundwave.)

“If you’re that bored, go find something to entertain yourself wi- wait no, I didn’t mean that!” Knock Out cried in alarm, just realizing what he had said. But he was too late, Fixit was already out the door with an excited “whoo!” echoing back to them.

“…we’re so slagged,” Breakdown whispered in horror.

“What have I done!?” Knock Out wailed.

 

Fixit hadn’t been seen in three cycles. By anyone.

Now, normally a drone not being seen for a couple of cycles wasn’t usually a cause for concern. But this was Fixit. And Fixit disappearing- with Knock Out’s (unintentional!) permission to pull a prank- was a Very Bad Thing. The entirety of the Nemesis was on edge.

Starscream and Knock Out had been organizing search parties almost non-stop since Fixit had vanished to try and stop the Eradicon before he could initiate his (evil, horrible) plans. The Seeker had almost considered ordering Soundwave back from the mines ahead of schedule, but production had already been behind schedule even before Fixit vanished, so he resigned himself to leaving Soundwave at the mine. So resigned, Starscream and Knock Out had promptly begun panicking in earnest because there was no way in the Pit that they would be able to catch Fixit without Soundwave’s help.

Breakdown was sure that after the fact (way, way after), this prank would undoubtedly be amusing. Fixit had learned from the Valentine’s Day Incident (more commonly known as “That-Which-Shall-Never-Be-Spoken-Of-Again”) what things were funny and what was just traumatizing. Mostly. It was possible this would be another trauma to add to the list, which was why Starscream and Knock Out were freaking so badly.

And as it turned out, they were right to panic. Exhausted from all the panicking, everyone finally went into recharge six cycles after Fixit had disappeared. After all, if he hadn’t done anything by now, surely he wasn’t going to anything?

Oh, how wrong they were.

When Breakdown onlined his optics at the beginning of the next cycle, he was greeted by the sight of bright orange. He reset his optics just to be sure they were working correctly. Yep, still bright orange. Rolling over, he poked Knock Out awake.

“Mrrph…what, Breaks?” the red mech said sleepily.

“Fixit has struck.”

Knock Out lay there for a moment longer before he actually processed what Breakdown had said. The moment he realized, he shot up from the berth, his optics widening in horror at their surroundings.

 

“Make it stop!” one of the Vehicons wailed, servos over its audios. Nobody heard him over the blaring disco music. 

Fixit had somehow managed to, in one cycle, without anyone catching him:

**1\. Paint the entirety of the Nemesis’ interior bright neon orange.**

**2\. Feed a virus into the ship that caused it to play human disco music non-stop.**

**3\. Convert every floor on the Nemesis into a disco dance floor,** complete with lights flashing in squares under their feet and a disco ball on every corner, so there wasn’t one area not lit.

It was driving everyone out of their processors. The last time Breakdown had seen Starscream, the Seeker had been beating his helm against the wall repeatedly- in time with the music. Breakdown had tactfully decided not to mention that little fact to the SIC.

Knock Out was stalking the halls, revving his saw with a manic grin on his face. Breakdown trailed behind him, careful not to attract his attention, but ready to step in if the medic decided to randomly attack somebot. 

And then suddenly, the music stopped. Everyone froze. Was it over? But alas, the music started up again…only this time, it was one song- on repeat. Knock Out snarled in frustration as he vowed to offline his Apprentice the next time he saw him.

Breakdown twitched, also irritated. What the slag was a “Macarena?”

 

Fixit laughed nervously as all three glared at her, sliding off her chair discreetly. “Well…I didn’t exactly mean for it to get stuck on the Macarena…”

Breakdown transformed his servos into his hammers as Starscream primed his missiles and Knock Out revved his saw.

“Fixit?” Knock Out enquired almost pleasantly.

“…yes?”

“RUN.”

She ran.


	10. Plots and Plans and Zombies

_“…cybertronian bodies cannot process organic compounds very well, so no, youngling, you will not be able to eat chocolate any longer.”_

 

Fixit was in the middle of debating whether or not to swap out KO’s wax again when Starscream commed.

“Fixit! Get down to the brig, now! Your skills are required!”

The Eradicon vented heavily, heaving herself up from where she had been lying on the floor. Why? Well, why not? She was bored, alright!?

_Creamer’s probably done something to the human government agent he told Soundwave to kidnap, and now he wants me to fix him…whoo…stupid KO, abandoning me to go racing…_

Knockout had dragged Breakdown out racing with him, leaving Fixit the only medical officer on board...and the only one who could potentially tend to the human’s injuries.

_Whoo…hey, wait…this’ll be the first contact I’ve had with a human since I woke up on the Nemesis, won’t it? Huh…weird._

 

“What took you so long!? Never mind, hurry up and tend to the human. Don’t fix it entirely, just enough so that it won’t offline on me before I get the information I need!”

“Nice pun, Herr Commendant,” Fixit said dryly as she began scanning the pot-bellied human male hanging from the chains. She hummed thoughtfully as she received the results, already compiling a list of what she would need to do. She grinned mentally. Ooh, there was a golden opportunity here to mess with Creamer! How could she resist!?

“Pun? I- what pun, what are you talking about?” Starscream asked in confusion, his “I-am-an-evil-badaft-fear-me!” routine slightly thrown off by the Eradicon’s offhanded comment.

“What’s my designation, Commander?” she asked as she placed her servo under the African-American human to support his weight, ignoring the human watching her curiously.

“…Fixit, why?”

“Now think back to what you said when I came in.”

The Seeker thought back as Fixit gently prodded the agent’s limbs, testing his reflexes. She could tell the moment both of them got it, because Starscream’s engine growled slightly and the agent snorted. 

“A Con with a sense of humor. I never thought I’d see the day,” the agent snarked. (Fixit seriously could not remember his name, Marie would always yell at the screen whenever he showed up).

“Quiet, scum! Fixit, stop being a smart aft!”

“Sorry sir, don’t think that’s possible. Can you feel your arms?”

“Wha- of course I can feel my arms you idiot!”

“I was actually asking the human, sir, but that’s good to know.”

“That’s it, out! I’ll take my chances on the human offlining!”

“Just a sec, sir… there, you’re good. I’ll get out,” she stood up after finishing injecting the agent.

“Whoa, whoa! What in the name of Uncle Sam’s knickers was that?” the agent cried in alarm.

“Fixit, what did you just do, this is my prisoner!” Starscream bristled indignantly.

“Relax, sir, I just injected him with a mild truth serum. It won’t hurt him, just make him more inclined to tell the truth. Although he might be allergic to one of the ingredients, which might make him slightly loopy, but even then, he’ll be more likely to tell the truth. Ta ta, have fun tormenting each other!” Fixit sang as she left the brig, idly waving her servo in the air. Both Starscream and the human were left blinking after her in mild confusion.

“Is he always lik’ tha’? Fowler asked, already beginning to slur his words slightly. 

“…unfortunately. Now, enough of this foolish resistance, where is the location of the Autobot base!?”

 

“All personnel, the Autobots are on the Nemesis! Repeat, the Autobots are on board! Battle stations!”

Fixit paused, not exactly certain what she should be doing. On second thought, prepping the medbay would probably be a good idea- and it would give her a good excuse to stay out of the fight. Hopefully. Hey, she couldn’t fix anyone if she was in dire need of repairs herself, right? Right. Hiding in the medbay it was. Hey, no one had ever accused her of being brave. Heroes didn’t tend to have long lives, and she liked living, thank you very much.

 

Fixit growled, sorely wishing she could strangle Starscream. It was going to take forever to completely repair the Nemesis! More importantly, because of the damage, she was stuck supervising the slaggin’ idiotic rusty scrap heaps that apparently passed for Decepticon soldiers! GAAAH! She was going to murder that glitchy electric toothbrush with wings as slowly and as painfully as possi-

“NO DON’T PUT THAT THERE YOU IDIOTIC TOASTER! YOU’LL BLOW US ALL UP!!! IT GOES OVER THERE, MORON!!!”

 

“…”

“…”

“…space is boring.”

Breakdown and Knockout groaned in unison as Fixit spoke up again.

“…I told Starscream we should’ve left him on Earth with Soundwave, but noooo…” Knockout whined, letting his helm fall onto the desk with a loud ‘clang.’ “’The insolent drone must remain on the Nemesis, where I can keep an optic on it!’ Fraggit, Fixit, what the slag did you do to piss ‘Screamer off so much!?”

“Uhhh…I dunno…paint his room pink? Give him gift cards to human shoe stores so he can get a more fashionable pair of high heels? Talk back to him in front of the human he was trying to interrogate? Glue a gigantic fake mustache and monocle to his faceplates?”

“Wait, what? What was that?”

“The giant mustache and monocle?”

“No, not that- although that was pretty funny- the part about the human.”

“Oh, right. I might’ve talked back to him and made him look slightly incompetent in front of the Autobots’ human liaison?”

The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the medbay as Knockout and Breakdown facepalmed hard enough to dent their faceplates.

 

_“Decepticons! It is with deep sorrow that I note for the log Megatron’s spark has been extinguished._

_All hail Starscream.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who want major changes to the plot right away…it’s not gonna happen for a while. She’s just another drone to most- only Knockout, Breakdown and Soundwave see her as anything more. Starscream just views her as entertainment/an annoyance, depending on the day. The plot isn’t really going to change until Orion Pax comes along because Fixit is in no way inclined to risk her neck for anyone besides those she considers family. Oops, spoilers!


	11. Skip, Skip, and Skip

_“I can give you only three chances. The longer they are gone, the harder they will be to return. Whether each chance succeeds or not is solely dependent on the strength of your spark. But be warned- if you attempt to return one and fail, you yourself shall never return.”_

 

“Sir…”

“What.” 

“…do you think Commander Starscream can actually lead us to victory? I mean, if even Lord Megatron couldn’t…”

“…I think he’ll give it his best shot. Who knows, maybe he’ll actually succeed for once. Everyone gets lucky sometime…” Fixit murmured absentmindedly as she worked on the other Vehicon’s leg.

“…that’s not exactly reassuring, sir.”

“Wasn’t meant to be. Besides, despite what Creamer wishes, I have a feeling we’ve yet to see the last of Lord Megatron.”

“Sir?”

“Lord Megatron is not the sort to just up and die. He’ll be back…somehow.”

 

“…”

“…”

“…Soundwave confuses me. Why couldn’t he just take you with him, again?”

Ravage ignored her bar a single flick of his tail as he lay curled up, (supposedly) napping on her desk.

Fixit had never before wished so badly she could scowl. Fraggin’ Creamer, dragging Soundwave off to help him locate some random warrior dude. Yeah, good luck with that. I highly doubt said warrior will ever agree to follow Creamer’s orders. But why the frag couldn’t Soundwave take Ravage with him!? He attaches to his armor, for Primus’ sake! And if he didn’t want to take his symbiont along, why the frag did he leave him with me?! Besides to watch me, but he has cameras for that! Why just suddenly leave Ravage behind when he hasn’t let the cybercat out of his sight since the mech was brought back?!

 

“Stupid fraggin’ finicky wires that I can barely slaggin’ see…” Fixit muttered as she worked on Megatron’s beat-up chassis. Knockout and Breakdown were off scouting for more energon for an indefinite amount of time (KO had seriously fragged off Starscream with that last prank, but he was using his temporary exile as an excuse to go racing. Poor Breakdown just got dragged along for the ride…again). She growled, not quite willing to give up and let her subconscious repair the slaggin’ finicky thing, because then Soundwave could sneak up on her without any effort whatsoever and it fraggin’ annoyed her! Grr…

Still muttering, she sat up from her hunched over position and turned around to grab another tool…and came face-to-chest with Soundwave. 

“GAH! STOP DOING THAT!”

 

“…is there any particular reason I’m repairing an Autobot? ‘Cause, ya know, I thought we were fighting them…” Fixit inquired as she walked down the hall with Soundwave to the brig.

“…he might yet be of use…” the silent mech quoted at her using Starscream’s voice.

“…eh, good enough for me. But why’d you pull me to repair him and not Knockout?”

Typically, Soundwave didn’t answer, instead stopping by the prisoner’s cell silently. He gestured for her to go in, then turned and stalked away. Silently.

“Fraggin’ sneaky intelligence officer that never says anything…” Fixit muttered as she walked into the cell. “And what is it with Creamer and chains or chain-like things!? Honestly, it’s like he has a fetish…ooh, wait, no bad images…”

The Autobot hanging there looked faintly disturbed as well. “That…was a mental image I could’ve gone the rest of my life without having.”

“You and me both,” Fixit groaned as she scanned the bot. “Mmm, mostly minor damage…couple energon lines I’ll have to repair or risk you offlining, though…”

“Like frag I’m letting a Decepticon drone repair me!” the mostly white Autobot exclaimed.

“That’s nice, whiny. Now hold still unless you want me to “accidentally” nick something.”

“Wha- I am not whiny!”

“Mm-hmm, sure…oh, by the way, I saw what you did to the Vehicons. If I didn’t have to repair them, I’d be very impressed. Since I do, though, I’m just irritated with you for adding yet more work to my already packed schedule! Irritating toaster…”

“…you are one weird Con.”

“All Cons are weird. It’s, like, a requirement or something. The higher up in the chain of command, the weirder we get. Whoo. I’m surrounded by crazies.”

“Sounds to me like you fit in perfectly.”

“Mostly. I’m a little too mischievous for most of them, though…there, all done. Ta-ta, Autoscum! May I never see you again!”

The door shut behind the Eradicon medic. “…well, that was rather bizzare,” Wheeljack mused.

 

“That fool Makeshift! How could he have not noticed the Autobots planting a grenade on him!? He ruined my chance to discover where the Autobot base is…and take it out!”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Fixit whispered quietly to herself so Starscream wouldn’t hear her as she fixed him. Knockout and Breakdown still had yet to return. “Your plots never work out, get over it. And who the frag is Makeshift, anyways?”

 

“Knockout! You’re back!” Fixit cried gleefully, throwing her arms in the air and accidentally tossing the wrench in her hands behind her. The Vehicon she had been working on yelped and covered his helm with his hands.

Knockout chuckled, clapping his Apprentice on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you again too, Fixit. Have you been causing havoc in my absence?”

“Sir yes sir!” the Eradicon saluted. She paused, glancing around. “Hey, KO…where’s Breakdown?”

“Checking out a lead on some more energon. He’ll be along soon.”

“Oh, ok. So I pulled the most awesome prank while you were gone-!”

 

“It’s…harvest time.”

“Whaaaat? Breakdown just got back and now they have to leave again?!”

Starscream groaned in exasperation as Knockout and Breakdown patted Fixit on the shoulders. “There, there. We’ll be back before you know it,” KO chuckled.

 

“Starscream’s gone more than a little power-mad in our absence, hasn’t he?” Knockout inquired as the irate Seeker stalked out of medbay.

“He was power-mad before, he just hid it slightly better,” Fixit said from where she was latched onto Breakdown. Knockout wouldn’t let her cling onto him for fear of her scratching his paint, but Breakdown was willing to tolerate it. For now.

“Hmm…”

 

“Where is Knockout!?” Starscream screeched. 

“Dunno.”

“He better not be racing again! I told him to clear it with me before he went!”

“Mm-hmm,” Fixit hummed, tuning Starscream’s ranting out as she worked.

 

“Starscream will pay for ruining my finish! How dare he! And after I had already lost a door, as well!”

Fixit and Breakdown vented in unison as they helped Knockout fix his finish…and replace his door.

“Yeah, well, maybe next time you shouldn’t kidnap one of the Autobots’ human charges while the Bot in question is right there?” the Eradicon suggested.

Knockout just kept right on ranting. Apparently he didn’t hear her.

Fixit’s wings twitched in irritation as she prepared to yell in the red medic’s audio, only to be stopped by Breakdown.

“Don’t even bother…he can be just as bad as Starscream when he gets into full-on rant mode,” the orange-faced mech explained.

“Great…so how long do we have to deal with this?”

Breakdown winced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we’re skipping through some episodes now. Like I said, Fixit isn’t really going to noticeably affect the plot for a while.


	12. Sick Mind

_“My children require help, youngling. Help that, regrettably, I cannot give them directly. This is why I approached you.”_

 

“Stupid fraggin’ idiotic Roombas that can’t do anything right-!” Fixit growled as she supervised the Vehicons repairing the ship. There had been yet another accident with some energon, leaving the Nemesis stuck where it was for now, and the longer they stayed here, the more likely it was that the Autobots would discover their location. Especially since the explosion had knocked out the slaggin’ electromagnetic shield!

 

Soundwave watched in mild amusement as Fixit paced irritably, but most of his attention was on the vid feed from the bridge.

“…Megatron’s mind may be scrap metal, but his mind is still percolating.”

“Keep that to yourself,” Starscream hissed. “That blasted Soundwave sees and hears everything.”

“The eyes and ears of the Decepticons,” Knock Out said wryly. 

Soundwave thought they had been on Earth too long, if they were starting to refer to optics and audios as eyes and ears. That, or Fixit had been messing with them again. Both were an option.

“Well, as long as their master remains in limbo, so does their cause. The Decepticons deserve a strong, alert leader.”

“One who would require a loyal second-in-command.”

Starscream chuckled. “A candidate would need to earn that post, by making a strong case to said eyes and ears.”

“A case for showing mercy, Lord Starscream?”

“You scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

Soundwave had heard enough. He needed to keep a very close optic on Lord Megatron from now on…and tell Fixit to pull some more disruptive and distracting pranks. Starscream and Knock Out both tended to focus only on the Eradicon’s pranks whenever they occurred, which was part of the reason Soundwave ensured the mech wasn’t punished too heavily for said pranks. They made a useful distraction…especially since the mech in question knew he was being used as a distraction and was more than happy to cooperate. Also, though Soundwave would never admit it, he found most of Fixit’s pranks deeply amusing. Especially since they resulted in temporary panic and fear from the rest of the crew.

 

“Knock Out, if you would be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave. For the historical record,” Starscream drawled.

Soundwave could tell where this was going, but was content to wait for now.

“Simply put, unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathly slumber…forever.”

True enough- it fit with what he had overheard Fixit mutter to himself when he thought no one else was around. Scaring the Eradicon was quickly becoming his favorite pastime, especially since it got harder and harder each time.

“Our master would not have wanted to be seen this way,” the Seeker said with fake regret. Only knowing the SIC’s true feelings kept Soundwave from being at least partially fooled, however. Starscream could be a masterful actor when he wished to be. “To stand idly by while he remains captive in his own body is not just.”

Like Starscream cared about justice. Soundwave moved forward to point at Lord Megatron’s processor activity.

“Brainwave activity-” Yep, definitely too much time on Earth. “-not evident of consciousness, but merely of an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake.”

“Soundwave, we must face reality. Megatron is lost to us,” Starscream said.

“The only honorable option would be to show him mercy,” Knock Out added.

“A simple throw of the switch.”

“Quick, painless, compassionate.”

Soundwave stared at them silently. They actually expected him to believe them?

“Soundwave, do I take your silence to mean you concur with Knock Out’s medical expertise?” Starscream asked.

The TIC stared silently at his Lord. Something wasn’t right. He barely heard Starscream, too intent on figuring out what, exactly, was wrong.

“Speak now, or forever hold your peace.”

Soundwave’s optics narrowed behind his screen. Was that…?

“Going…going…”

The silent purple mech raised his arm, cutting the Seeker off, and pointed at the cable leading off to a vent from behind Lord Megatron.

“Hmm…” Starscream frowned, walking over to investigate. He picked it up, running through his servos before turning to look at the vent it lead to. He bent down.

“What in- intruders!” The SIC powered up his missile as Soundwave heard the distinctive sound of a groundbridge activating and the Autobot scout beeping a goodbye in intergalactic binary.

“Allow me,” said the Autobot Arcee’s voice. A shot flew out from the vent and knocked Lord Megatron off life-support, the groundbridge shutting right after.

“…It was the inevitable outcome,” Starscream smirked.

Soundwave got right up in his face and pointed purposefully.

Starscream vented in exasperation. “Of course, it would be wrong to allow Megatron to perish by an Autobot’s hand…Knock Out.”

The red doctor shrugged, walking over to reconnect the life-support.

“Happy now, Soundwave?”

The TIC glared silently at the Seeker for a moment before stalking off. He needed to overhaul the security systems if the Autobots had gotten in unseen.

 

“And how is the patient today?” Starscream asked of Knock Out as he walked back in. Soundwave had been plaguing him non-stop with security upgrades he needed approved until just recently.

“Funny you should ask. Not sure what the Bots did in there, but Megatron’s showing zero brainwave activity.”

“Hmm…meaning?”

“Physically, he’s stable…but now, there’s no one home.”

Starscream frowned, then smirked. “Well then, I suppose we don’t have to worry about him waking up anytime soon.”

 

Soundwave glared at the vid feed from the security cameras, momentarily ignoring the Eradicon cussing him out for sneaking up on the mech again. The Autobots would pay for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundwave hijacked the chapter this time around. Fixit was less than pleased, with both her stalker and Knock Out.


	13. Starscream Turns Up The Heat

_“Your new body will not be ready for you for a while longer yet…so, youngling, do you play poker?”_

 

“…so why the frag are we stealing a lens from a human telescope again?”

Soundwave didn’t reply. Surprise, surprise.

Fixit huffed in irritation, turning back to continue “help” supervise the Vehicons moving the lens. _Why am I even here? It’s obvious Soundwave doesn’t need my help, so why did he drag me along? I was in the middle of planning my revenge against Knock Out! Well, I suppose I did always want to see Hawai’i…_

The Eradicon jumped as something brushed against her legs. Jerking out of her thoughts, she glanced down and promptly glared at Ravage. The cybercat ignored her in turn as he twined between his host’s pedes to sit on their his side, where Fixit couldn’t get at him. Although trying anything with Soundwave right there would be a phenomenally bad idea anyways…stupid glitchy toaster-in-the-form-of-a-cat…

 

Soundwave ignored both the grumbling Eradicon and his amused symbiont in favor of supervising the drones. Fixit’s presence here wasn’t necessary, true, but he didn’t like how Starscream had been eyeing the mech lately. He couldn’t tell if the Seeker was planning to get rid of a nuisance…or if he was becoming interested in the Medical Apprentice. Either way, it didn’t matter. Fixit intrigued and amused him…and until he decided otherwise, the Eradicon was his. Oh, Knock Out might technically have a claim on the mech for now since he was his Apprentice, but in the long run? Fixit belonged to the host mecha until Soundwave decided otherwise, and there was no way in the Pit he was letting anyone else have the Eradicon anytime soon.

 

“No, Fixit, that goes there!”

“But then the focused light won’t be as intense!”

Starscream watched carefully as Knock Out and Fixit argued over how to set up the lens. Breakdown was just ignoring the both of them as he helped the Vehicons set the thing up. Beside the Seeker, Soundwave stood wordlessly and outwardly impassive. Behind his screen, though, the TIC was keeping a careful optic on Starscream. Both because his attention seemed torn between Soundwave’s Eradicon and the device necessary for his plan, and because of the conversation the TIC had overheard between Knock Out and Starscream earlier. Really, one would think they would be more discreet when plotting treason. Still, it was probably best to keep Fixit away from the ship (and Starscream) for a while whilst he figured out a way to deal with the problem…

 

Fixit whooped as she cut through the air. _I can’t believe I was ever scared of flying! THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!!!_

It wasn’t the first time Fixit had been flying since waking up as an Eradicon, but it was the first time she had had the time to pull more complex stunts than a simple loop-de-loop or a barrel roll.

_I take back anything bad I ever said about Soundwave in the past three orns. He so totally rules! I can’t believe he actually ordered me to take my time getting to the energon mine in South America, and told me to blame bad weather for the delay! I mean, since Creamer pulled everybody but a skeleton crew from the mine, I would’ve thought that Soundwave wanted someone there as soon as possible to supervise the glitchy Roombas, but apparently not! Frag, I don’t even care right now that he has to be up to something or that he ordered Lazerbeak to babysit me, I HAVE PERMISSION TO SLACK OFF AND PLAY!!! WHOOHOOOOO!!!_

“WHOOHOOOOO!!!” she hollered out loud along with her thoughts as she rolled around Lazerbeak, whooping in exhilaration as the flyer began rolling with her. Together, they spiraled across the sky, challenging each other to increasingly awesome stunts. 

“SO TOTALLY AWESOME!!! WE HAVE TO DO THIS MORE OFTEN!!!”

Lazerbeak screeched happily in agreement, flipping exuberantly over his fellow flyer.

 

Fixit bounced lightly on her pedes as she walked down the halls of the Nemesis, servos interlaced behind her helm as she chatted idly with Lazerbeak.

“…I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved having so much time to fly, but we were stuck supervising the idiotic blenders for a really long time.”

:It was only an orn, Fixit.: Lazerbeak replied in exasperation from where the little femme was perched on the Eradicon’s shoulder.

“And the only other beings there besides us and the blenders were tiny rodents. I don’t know about you, but I kind of wanted more people to have intelligent conversations with.”

:You had me…:

“And I love talking with you, but when I said ‘intelligent conversations,’ I really meant ‘prank the frag out of them.’ I like you too much to do that to you.”

:You mean you like the pranking ideas I gave you too much to risk fragging off the source.:

“…yeah, pretty much. Not that a prank war with you wouldn’t be fun, but I kinda like picking on Creamer and KO more. Their reactions are hilarious!”

Lazerbeak snickered along with his fellow femme (although neither of them knew that). Then he laughed out loud. :Okay, I totally understand that. Their faces during and just after the sheep incident were just priceless!:

Now it was Fixit’s turn to join Lazerbeak in laughter. “Oh Primus, I’d almost forgotten about that! That was one of my first few pranks, wasn’t it?”

:Yep. That’s part of the reason Soundwave allows you to get away with some of your pranks- he actually laughs at the reactions you get, sometimes!:

“…seriously? My pranks amuse Slendermech?”

:…more the reactions to the pranks, and Slendermech? Really? That’s…I honestly expected something more imaginative from you.:

“Look up ‘Slenderman’ on the Internet.”

:…:

“…”

:…!:

Lazerbeak burst out laughing, falling off of Fixit’s shoulder. The Eradicon caught the tiny femme, laughing at his reaction even as the smaller cybertronian writhed in her servo, laughing so hard his vents began to hitch.

 

Fixit stared as Lord Megatron stalked out of medbay, passing her without a glance. _When did he wake up? And how did he get so shiny?_

 

“Geez, ‘Creamer, how’d you lose your entire fraggin’ arm?”

“None of your business, drone!”

“Alright, alright, I can tell when I’m not wanted,” Fixit threw her servos in the air, backing out of medbay with Breakdown slowly and leaving Knock Out to repair the Seeker on his own. The red mech glowered at them for abandoning him to the pissy mech. She turned to Breakdown as the doors closed. “Hey, Breaks?”

“Yeah?”

“Do Seekers PMS?”

Breakdown paused, looking up the phrase on the Internet…and then promptly burst out laughing.

 

“Seriously, again? You were just in here, what, half a cycle ago?”

“Frag off, Fixit! Knock Out! Get over here and fix me!”

“You didn’t even get your arm back?”

Starscream snarled at the Eradicon. She threw her servos in the air again.

“Whoa, boy! Down! I’m going, I’m going…”

Fixit commed Lazerbeak as the medbay doors shut behind her again. **:Hey Laz?:**

:Fixit? What’s up?:

**:Breakdown didn’t answer one of my questions earlier, do you mind…?:**

:Sure, Fix, what is it?:

**:Do Seekers PMS? ‘Cause Creamer’s definitely acting like someone PMSing…:**

:…:

**:…:**

:…BWAHAHAHAHA-!:

Fixit cut off the commline and pouted. That was the reaction she always got, and no one she had asked so far had actually given her a response beyond raucous laughter. Evidentially no one was going to answer her fraggin’ question…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Fixit. Will anyone ever answer her question?  
> Like I said, I don't see Cybertronians as having gender. So even though I chose to make Lazerbeak a femme, I’m still going to refer to the symbiont as a ‘he,’ because of the reasoning I gave in an earlier chapter that I have no desire to restate right now. Go back and look, if you really want to know.  
> Soundwave is such a possessive and overprotective stalker.


	14. Starscream and Knock Out Learn to Fear a Bored Fixit

_Ah, Internet. How I love you so. I can find anything I need on you!_

 

“Thank you, my good sir. Your assistance shall be well rewarded,” Fixit said pompously as she took the materials she had ordered online from the Vehicon who had agreed to pick it up on his patrol. 

“Just…leave me out of it, please? Sir?” ST-3V3 asked timidly. He- and all the rest of the Vehicons- had a very healthy respect (aka fear) of the crazy Eradicon Medical Apprentice.

Fixit paused. “No promises, but I’ll do my best. Ta-ta!”

 

Fixit cackled quietly to herself as she slinked through the Nemesis’ vents. After all the modifications Knock Out did to her frame, she was just barely small enough to fit, and abused this fact mercilessly. Soundwave was the only one who had figured out how she got around unseen, but was keeping it quiet in return for disruptions and distractions when he needed them. Frankly, Fixit thought she had gotten the better end of the deal- she had unofficial permission to prank the slag out of the crew!

 

“Lessee…Creamer gets the pink and KO gets the orange…or is it the other way around?”

Fixit frowned mentally at the colors in her servos. She couldn’t remember who was supposed to get which…

Screw it, she was mixing them all! Neon pink, orange, green, purple, and yellow, all together now!

 

“Was it up or down…? Or did I go right when I was supposed to go left?”

The Eradicon’s engine growled softly. All the slaggin’ vents looked the same!

 

“So that’s the Spanish version of the song…hmm…”

Fixit mentally tallied up how many different versions of the song she had. _English, Spanish, Russian, Italian, German- high and low- Afrikaans, Latin- so cool I found that one!- French, Romanian, Greek, Hawai’ian, Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, Arabic, Indonesian, Mongolian, Turkish, Egyptian, Hebrew, Moroccan, Dutch, Norwegian, Icelandic, Inuit, Canadian (it is totally a different language, I don’t care what anyone else says), Cybertronian…yeah, I think that’s a pretty good range. They’ll never know what hit them! MUAHAHAHA!!!_

 

_Yes…come to me, my pretty…come to mama…_

 

Fixit clung to the rafters, ninja-style. _Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Batman!_

Below her, Breakdown and Knock Out continued talking, worrying about her absence the past three cycles. _Hurry up and leave already, I’m behind schedule and you’re making me even later!_

 

_And now…it is time to strike._ Fixit began cackling manically, scaring the slag of the Vehicons walking past the closet she was hiding in. _I love alibis!_

 

Knock Out was abruptly jarred out of his recharge by a song blaring over the intercom at full fragging volume.

**“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…”**

“What the frag?!”

 

Starscream and Breakdown had been on top of the Nemesis, supervising the drones performing some basic repairs on damage they had incurred in the tropical storm just a little while ago, when the annoying Earth song began blaring over the speakers.

Breakdown winced, clapping his servos over his audios along with the Seeker. He watched as the SIC began to yell- although Breakdown could barely hear his own thoughts, so he definitely couldn’t hear the other mech- and stalked off towards the entrance to the ship. Unfortunately, the Seeker didn’t make it there before setting off one of Fixit’s lovingly prepared booby traps.

Starscream was launched a couple of meters into the air as giant neon party balloons, streamers, and confetti exploded out from under him.

 

Knock Out slipped and slid down the neon balloon-filled and well-oiled corridor. It was impossible to get anywhere, and to make matters worse, the oil was mixed with emerald-green stain! It was ruining his paint job!

 

Starscream was going nuts. The slagging song had repeated in over fifty different languages...and then went and started over from the beginning!

He screeched in fury as his pedes went out from under him again, coating him in oil and pink stain. Whatever slagger had done this had used a different color stain for each fragging corridor!

 

Knock Out slid through the intersection and accidentally crashed into his fellow officers, each one coming from a different direction. They groaned in unison.

“When I get my claws on the fragger that did this-!” Starscream snarled, looking quite ridiculous dyed pink, green, and highlighter yellow with streamers and popped balloons all over him.

“Not if I get to them first,” Knock Out rumbled, looking rather dangerous deranged with his left optic twitching like that. He too was tie-dyed and covered in party accoutrements. 

“I don’t care if I get to them before or after you- I’m going to smash them into a pulp either way,” Breakdown vowed, the multi-colored party mech popping a neon purple balloon in his fist threateningly.

 

At the energon mine, Fixit paused. Soundwave glanced at her in mild interest.

“My death threat senses are tingling,” she explained matter-of-factly, tapping her chin thoughtfully and ignoring Soundwave’s completely blank yet simultaneously incredulous gaze. “I wonder why…after all, I have been here for the past twelve cycles.”

_And I have…because I finished setting up the prank seventeen cycles ago. They’ll never believe it’s been in place for that long without being triggered, which effectively leaves me with an alibi! Booyah! Beat that, Knock Out!_


	15. Character Development

_“There will be many dangers you must face if you are to help my children. Dangers I cannot help you with. If you accept my offer, youngling…you will be on your own once more.”_

 

“So bored…KO, why did I have to come? I’m a fraggin’ jet, I can’t even race in these things!”

“Breakdown’s off scouting for energon in Russia, and I wanted the company.”

“…and?”

“And what?”

“You’ve gone racing alone plenty of times before. There’s more you’re not telling me.”

“Is it so wrong to want to socialize with my Apprentice? I’ve hardly seen you at all since Lord Megatron woke up.”

“Ah. You just want someone to gripe at.”

“What?! No, I-”

“You and Creamer weren’t nearly as discreet as you thought, KO. The only reason the Vehicons didn’t notice you two were plotting was because they didn’t want to.”

“…ah. Wait, does that mean-?”

“Yes, Soundwave noticed the plotting. I had to work my aft off to ensure you wouldn’t be punished too badly, you idiot!”

“What?”

“Getting assigned to supervise the mine for the next orn or so? That’s your punishment for plotting against our Lord with Starscream.”

“…not that I’m complaining, but just that? That seems…awfully lenient of Lord Megatron.”

“That’s because Soundwave, Breakdown and I are the only ones who know. And I owe Soundwave way too many favors to count just from bargaining to reduce your punishment. If you do it again, I won’t be able to protect you, KO. Slendermech practically owns me as it is.”

Knock Out stared at his Apprentice as he stared out at the sunset, wings twitching in irritation and…concern. The Eradicon was worried for him, for the consequences he would face if caught plotting treason, to the point where he practically bargained away his own freedom to try and protect KO. And having had the mech as his Apprentice for several stellar cycles, the red doctor knew just how much that freedom meant to Fixit.

“…Fixit…” Knock Out said quietly, stunned.

The Eradicon twitched. “Don’t do it again, KO. I won’t be able to protect you next time.” His Apprentice leapt up, transforming in midair and shooting off into the setting sun. Knock Out watched him go silently, the race he came out here for forgotten in the light of Fixit’s revelations.

 

_Stupid idiot!_ Fixit snarled to herself as she soared through the air. _Oh yes, let’s plot treason with Starscream, such a good idea! After all, his plans have such a high success rate! Fraggit, KO, I may have seen only a couple of episodes, but even then I could tell Creamer would never actually manage to take over the Decepticons! And now that I know him personally, I’m extra sure of it! All that associating with Starscream will do is drag you down with him when Megatron finally gets fed up with him and blasts him into scrap! I’ve already lost so much, Knock Out, already lost all of my family once before! I can’t lose any more of my family! I can’t lose you, too!_

Fixit roared through the air, pouring all of her frustrations into flying. She spun and looped and dived and twirled and screamed through canyons, dodging and darting and missing obstacles in her path by mere inches. She pulled out of the canyons and blasted straight up, going higher and higher and finally reaching the edge of the atmosphere, the edge of her world, all she had ever known. 

The human-turned-Eradicon transformed, pausing there on the edge of her world and staring out at the endless, beautiful cosmos for an eternity of a moment. Naught but the stars looked back, and in their beauty, both Fixer and Fixit, human and cybertronian, finally found peace…finally resolved the last of their differences and truly became one. Then the two-who-were-finally-one fell backwards, letting gravity take her as she plummeted down, down, down. She fell, watching the clouds come closer and closer, passing them, passing through them, and falling down, past the clouds, leaving them behind as she freefell through the Earth’s sky, naught but peace in her heart-spark.

_This is who I am,_ she thought as she fell. _This is who I am, and who I shall always be. No matter my name or designation, I am me, and nothing, no one, can change that._

And finally, the hurting, scared girl who was abused by her own twin, the grown woman who had found, made, lost, and re-made her own family, the scared femme who had died and woken up in a body and a world not her own…finally, she knew was it was to be at peace. Finally, she was just her and no one else.

She was just Fixit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short, but it just didn’t feel right to continue. So it might not have been evident before now, but Fixit has a massive amount of unresolved trauma and issues. She was abused by her own twin, who actually used their twin-bond as a weapon against her. BlueJay literally damaged her mind- her subconscious literally operates independently of her, even if it focuses on nothing but fixing things- and since he doesn’t exist anymore, she’s only now just beginning to heal. Her mental instability hasn’t really come into play yet- she’s gotten very good at hiding/coping with it over the years- but eventually it will come out…and oh so much slag will hit the fan when it does.


	16. Bonding and Airachnid

_“…that was not exactly the reaction I had expected from you, youngling.”_

_“And I give a shit…why?”_

 

“Slaggit, Fixit, just tell me!”

“Nope! It’s way too much fun to watch you wonder!”

Knock Out snarled in frustration as his Apprentice cackled gleefully. Like slag she’d tell him how she pulled Sports Day off, this was way too much fun!

“This is retribution for that, isn’t it?!”

“Constantly going racing and leaving me to deal with everything by myself? Yes,” Fixit said dryly, well aware that wasn’t what he was really asking.

Sure enough, the red Aston Martin scowled at her. “Fixit…”

Her undoubtedly snarky reply was interrupted by Breakdown limping through the door…missing an optic!?

“WHAT HAPPENED!?” the two medical personnel cried in unison, immediately moving to fuss over their third member.

 

Fixit and Knock Out snarled in unison. MECH would pay.

Breakdown just sighed, resigned to their overprotectiveness.

 

“You’re going out alone!?” Fixit cried in dismay, clinging to Breakdown. The only reason Knock Out wasn’t clinging along with her was because he was supervising the mine…again. He vented in irritation.

“I’ll be fine, Fixit. Soundwave picked up a magnetic signature, it’s in the middle of nowhere, and if you don’t let me go I won’t make it there and back before the Autobots…”

She pouted. “Fine. But if you get hurt, I reserve the right to mercilessly hunt down and obliterate whatever hurt you.”

“And what if I just trip over a rock or something?”

“Then that rock will be atomized.”

Breakdown facepalmed.

 

“Breakdown! You’re back!” Fixit leapt up, running over to him. She immediately started scanning him. 

“Fixit, I’m fine,” Breakdown groaned. 

“Sayth he who is dented and scratched. Who or what did this to you and where can I find them/it?”

He gave her a flat look (with his one remaining optic- Fixit cringed internally at the reminder of what MECH did to him). “…the Autobots did it. Now help me get Airachnid off.”

“…who?”

Breakdown turned around, displaying the spider attached to his back.

“Hello…who are you?” the creepy femme asked.

Fixit reset her optical band. “…Breaks?”

“Yes Fixit?” he vented.

“Who is he, and do I need to be respectful to him?”

“Airachnid is an officer. Now get him off.”

“…ok. And to answer your question, sir,” she said, addressing the spider as she began scanning the two, “I’m Fixit. Knock Out’s Apprentice.”

“Knock Out took on an Apprentice? And a drone at that?” Airachnid looked Fixit over with renewed interest. “Interesting…”

 

Soundwave glared at the vid feed. Just perfect, someone else he had to keep away from his Eradicon. At least he’d have a semi-ally in Breakdown- the one-opticed mech didn’t look very happy about the spider’s interest in Fixit either. And if Breakdown wasn’t happy about it, chances were Knock Out would be less than pleased as well. Between the five of them (he was counting Ravage and Lazerbeak), they should be able to make sure Fixit was never alone with Airachnid. There was no telling what the spider was liable to do to the Eradicon.

 

Soundwave watched silently as Starscream left. As soon as the doors shut behind the Seeker, Fixit’s helm popped out from around behind a desk, Lazerbeak on his shoulder.

“Is he gone yet?” the Eradicon asked in an over-exaggerated whisper. 

Soundwave just turned his helm to stare at the other mech.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then! Come on, Laze, let’s go mess with Creamer’s quarters whilst he’s busy!”

Lazerbeak trilled in amusement, sending a hopeful plea over his bond with the TIC as the little femme looked at his host. Fixit quickly caught on that his new friend was asking for permission and joined the little bird in gazing hopefully at Soundwave, his wings perking up expectantly.

Soundwave tilted his helm from side-to-side, amused at how the other two helms followed his attentively. After a couple more moments, he inclined his helm in agreement and chuckled internally as the two lit up in glee.

“Thank you!” Fixit beamed, bouncing over to him happily. Lazerbeak jumped from Fixit to his arms, cuddling him in thanks before leaping back to the Eradicon. For one brief moment, Soundwave thought Fixit might follow his symbiont’s example, but then the moment passed and the two were bounding off to prank Starscream, already deep in discussion about what they should do.

The TIC watched them go thoughtfully, both amused by their enthusiasm and pleased by how much Fixit had relaxed around him. After all, it wouldn’t do to have his Eradicon afraid of him, now would it?

 

Fixit stared at Knock Out in shock. Starscream was captured by the Autobots?

“Fixit?” KO asked carefully, unable to predict how his Apprentice would react to the news.

“Slaggin’ failure of a toy airplane, how dare he get himself captured?! Now all that work we put into the prank will go to waste!”

Breakdown and Knock Out facepalmed. Of course that was what the Eradicon would be concerned about.

 

Fixit spun idly on her stool, totally bored. KO and Breakdown had gone to retrieve some kind of data cylinder and Soundwave and Lazerbeak were working/being creepers again, leaving her stuck with Ravage…who was napping on things she still needed to repair. Again. _He’s so doing that on purpose…fraggin’ toaster…_

“Well, you certainly look like you’re having fun,” Airachnid said as he walked through the medbay doors.

“…oodles and oodles, sir,” Fixit said respectfully, carefully not showing how much the spider freaked her out. Airachnid reminded her all too much of BlueJay and Knives…and knowing the horrible things they had gotten up to first-hand, the human-turned-Eradicon was pretty intent on avoiding the spider. Unfortunately, said spider had seemingly taken an interest in her…like Knives had…Fixit shuddered mentally, firmly locking those memories down. _It’s done and over with, he can’t hurt me anymore, especially since he doesn’t even exist here. But Airachnid does, and I have a feeling I’m going to need all my wits about me to deal with him._

Although it couldn’t hurt to call in backup. Keeping a careful optic on the femme poking around the medbay, she commed Lazerbeak. **:Hey Laze? Mind telling Ravage to wake up…like, right now?:**

:Fixit? What’s wrong?: Lazerbeak sounded startled, for good reason. Fixit never contacted him whilst he was working unless he explicitly told the Eradicon it was okay to do so.

**:Airachnid’s here,:** the Eradicon said grimly. Keeping the line open but muted, so that Lazerbeak would be able to hear and comment without anyone but Fixit hearing him, the Eradicon politely asked if the spider needed any medical assistance. 

“Yes, actually, but it’s not for myself. You see, I find myself in need of some knowledge about the humans, and you seem like the mech to ask.” 

Fixit hid her discomfort with the ease of years of practice as the spider drifted closer, leaning down into her personal space bubble. “I see.” Because, really, she couldn’t dispute that. She actually was the best informed on humans, for good reason. “In that case, how may I help you, sir?”

:Hang on, Fixit, we’re coming,: Lazerbeak stated grimly. :Just hold on.:

Airachnid chuckled, reaching up a servo to drift it gently over Fixit’s shoulder. “Come now, there’s no need for such formalities. You can just call me-”

The femme was interrupted by Ravage purposefully knocking over a delicate piece of machinery on the other side of the room. 

“Ravage!” Fixit cried in partially-faked dismay as she leapt up and ran over. “That’ll take forever to fix, you fraggin’ glitchy toaster!”

Behind her, Airachnid narrowed his optics in annoyance, glaring at the cybercat. He just gazed coolly back at the spider, his tail curling idly as the Eradicon fussed over the circuitry on the floor.

“Is everything alright over there…Fixer, wasn’t it?” the femme called out in mock concern. Both he and Ravage were too busy watching each other to see the Eradicon’s shudder as bad memories were brought up and stuffed back under once more.

“M-my designation is Fixit, sir. And this’ll take forever to repair, Knock Out’s been working on this the past five cycles. I have to get started on it right away, my apologies, I can’t answer your questions right now.” She cursed herself for the slight stammer at the beginning, praying the spider hadn’t noticed it.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem as though she had, although Lazerbeak certainly had.

:Fixit? Are you okay?:

“…of course, it’s no problem. I’ll just come back later, shall I?”

:Fixit!?:

“Certainly, sir, now if you’ll excuse me…?”

:Fixit!:

**:Shut up, focusing!:** Fixit snapped quickly, keeping most of her attention on the spider.

“Of course. See you later…Fixit.”

The Eradicon waited a long minute to be sure the spider was really gone, then promptly collapsed into a shaking ball of metal as all the memories she had been suppressing overwhelmed her.

> _“Aw, whatsa matter, little freak can’t take the pain?”_
> 
> _“Bet it’d look so much better covered in blood…whadda ya say, BlueJay? Can I have it?”_
> 
> _“Here little freaky bitch, Knives has got a special present for you…”_
> 
> _“C’mere, brat, Knives missed his little toy…”_
> 
> __

__

Something heavy landed on Fixit’s back, snapping her out of the memories. She jerked away (hurtpainfear), knocking whatever it was off her back (knifeknifeknife) as she relocated to press her (vulnerablesensitiveweakness) wings against the wall…only to pause as she stared into Ravage’s concerned optics. _Wait, Ravage? But…he didn’t…_ She glanced around her surroundings, relaxing slightly (safefixhome) as she remembered where she was. _Oh. I’m on the Nemesis. Right._

And then she flinched (dangerdangerdanger), mind still hyper-alert, as Soundwave and Lazerbeak burst through the medbay doors. Soundwave froze by the doors, leaving the little femme to wing his way over to the faintly trembling Eradicon. 

:Fixit, are you okay!?: Lazerbeak keened in distress and worry, latching onto his friend’s knee. :Did the spider hurt you?! What happened!? Talk to me!: 

She stared at the small Deployer (childyounglingprotect) on her knee for a long moment before reaching out and scooping him up to cradle against her chest, her shaking slowly fading as she soaked up the little femme’s willing comfort. 

Fixit jerked slightly (potentialdangerthreat) as Ravage brushed gently against her pedes, but slowly settled as he did nothing more than curl up against her side (quiethelpcalm). She relaxed further as he began purring along with Lazerbeak’s reassuring engine rumbles, her wings finally beginning to ease down from their previous tense position. 

Finally remembering that Soundwave had come in also, she looked up to see him turn away from the door. He had been doing something to it, but her view of the control panel was quickly blocked as he carefully, almost hesitantly, made his way over to her. She stiffened slightly, grip tightening slightly on Lazerbeak as she watched him warily, but didn’t do anything else. He had never actually tried to hurt her- in fact, he had actively protected her at times (amusingpranksfun)- so she was willing to give him a chance…for now. 

The TIC paused (hesitated) a meter or so away from her, watching her as carefully as she was watching him. Finally, he sank down to the floor, sitting cross-legged, close but deliberately not touching her. She watched him warily a moment longer, judging him…and then tentatively reached out with a slightly shaking servo, pausing, hovering above his servo. Soundwave very carefully didn’t move, and his patience was rewarded when Fixit eventually delicately clasped his servo with her own trembling one. Gently, softly, he returned her grip, trying to be as reassuring as possible. Her shaking increased, but she made no move to remove her servo, instead curling further around Lazerbeak. 

They sat in silence for a good long while. Fixit didn’t bother keeping track of time, instead focusing on relaxing and rebuilding her mental walls. Eventually, after repairing all that she could for now, she instead offlined her optical band, soaking in the peace and safety the other three’s presence brought her. And slowly, ever so slowly, she fell into recharge, still clutching Lazerbeak tenderly to her chest, with Ravage curled up against her side and Soundwave quietly holding her servo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D'awww.


	17. Synthetic Energon

_“There are many ways you could potentially help my children, youngling. However, most of them will only be effective if you stumble onto them yourself.”_

 

“…and then he just up and painted a slaggin’ glyph on me! He completely ruined my paintjob!”

Fixit made sympathetic sounds as she helped Breakdown buff KO now that his paint was dry. Honestly, though, she wasn’t really feeling up to doing much today. But alas, Knock Out’s precious paint had been marred, and needed to be fixed immediately.

 

Fixit worked around Ravage as he napped on her desk. Ever since they had helped comfort her during her mental breakdown, the Eradicon had gotten much more attached to the three intelligence mechs...attached to the point she considered them family along with Knock Out and Breakdown. She hadn’t told any of the three just why she had had a panic attack, of course- that would require explaining that this wasn’t her first life, and no matter how much she cared for them, she highly doubted they cared enough about her to overlook her squishy past. But still, the fact that she thought of them as family remained- and even if they couldn’t overlook her past, she knew they did care for her at least a little in their own ways. Lazerbeak was simply the most open about his affections.

 

Knock Out and Breakdown were out taunting Autobots again. Now, normally this would mean Fixit would be messing around in medbay or spinning on her seat, but Airachnid had been unusually persistent in trying to get the Eradicon alone lately. Hence why Fixit was slumped on the floor against the desk in Soundwave’s office while the intelligence mechs were working, bored out of her processor. Soundwave had given her a datapad full of puzzles earlier (probably to try and fend off the inevitable restlessness), and while she appreciated the thought, the puzzles were just too easy to solve. She hadn’t even had to let her subconscious take a crack at it, that’s how easy they were!

She vented heavily, letting her helm fall back against the desk. _Well, I suppose I could always start planning my next prank…can’t be anything too disruptive, and it needs to stay far away from Lord Megatron…ooo. Ooo yes, yes I like that…not overly disruptive, but still irritating…and let’s see, what annoying songs do I know? Well, there’s Cows with Guns…Ghost Chickens in the Sky…The Ultimate Showdown…The Vatican Rag…the ever-classic 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall…The Song That Nevers Ends…the Oscar Meyer Weiner song…oh, so many possibilities! But yes, that will do to start with…now how to pump the music into the mine…hmm…_

She jumped as Lazerbeak plopped onto her helm, hanging off to peer at her upside-down.

:I want in.:

**:What?:**

:You’re plotting another prank. I can tell by your body language. And I want in.:

Fixit glanced reflexively up at Soundwave, but he appeared to be focused on his work and wasn’t paying them any mind. Supposedly.

Meh, whatever. If he wanted to stop them, he would.

**:Deal. Now, we’re going to need a portable sound system…:**

 

“What is this stuff, Knock Out?” Fixit asked curiously, peering over the red mech’s shoulder.

“Good question. Whatever it is, it made the Autobot medic go nuts- and gave him an increase in power at the same time.”

“So…it’s a cybertronian steroid?”

Knock Out and Breakdown both paused, turning to stare at the suddenly innocent-looking Eradicon.

“It’s creepy how well you do that, you know,” Breakdown informed her as KO just shook his helm and went back to work.

“Do what?” she tilted her helm curiously.

“Okay, stop, seriously. That’s creepy.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Fixit, stop it. I said stop…no, don’t come closer, back off. Fixit!”

“But I wanna hug…” Her wings quivered sadly.

Breakdown was even more alarmed now. “Fixit, stop it, don’t do that-! Knock Out, make him stop!”

Fixit whined, enjoying messing with Breakdown far too much.

“You’re a big bot, Breakdown, you can handle it,” KO said absentmindedly, too focused on analyzing the unusual energon to really notice his partner’s predicament.

“Knock Out-! Wait, Fixit, no, don’t you dare-!”

Fixit cackled, waving the packet of pink sticky glitter threateningly as she chased him around the room.

 

Fixit watched thoughtfully as the Vehicons collected the dark energon from the volcano. _Why the frag is dark energon erupting from the Earth?! I thought energon only occurred naturally on Cybertron!_

One of the Vehicons passing her stumbling, causing her to reach out instinctively and catch him. He thanked her weakly before continuing on his way. Looking around, none of the other Vehicons were doing so great either.

_I guess that explains how dark energon affects me,_ she thought grimly. _I feel a little weakened, yes, but it’s barely noticeable, whereas everyone else is practically dead on their feet from the exposure. Hopefully anyone who notices my resistance to it attributes it to only supervising and not actually handling the dark energon…_

_And I hope and pray I can remain in the background until whatever this is, is over._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, finally, we’re almost to where Fixit begins to change the plot. Just the rest of “One Shall Rise” left to go!


	18. One Shall Rise

_“None of the people you knew exist in the universe I would send you to, in any form…both those who you considered family, and those who haunt your nightmares.”_

 

Fixit was cowering in a closet. Why, you ask? Well, because one Lord Megatron, in his infinite wisdom, decided to place Airachnid in charge whilst he was gone. Currently, said spider was too busy making sure the dark energon was secure and wouldn’t affect the crew, but eventually he would get around to realizing his new position as temporary SIC would allow him to order Fixit to be alone with him. Fixit, understandably, was less than happy about this possibility. So were Soundwave, his symbionts, Knock Out, and Breakdown. Hence, why they were all out making minor difficulties that would nonetheless require the current CO do deal with them.

 

Airachnid was getting pissed, and Fixit was running out of places to hide. The drones had kept almost spilling the dark energon, so the spider ordered Knock Out and Breakdown to supervise them. Strike two diversion runners.

Lord Megatron had yet to return, and a comment from Airachnid had an increasing number of the Vehicons believing that their Lord had abandoned them. They were getting ever more restless, causing Soundwave to deploy Lazerbeak and Ravage to keep an eye on them. Strike two more helpers.

Soundwave himself was stuck on the bridge, but could keep an eye on Airachnid through the cameras and direct Fixit away from the spider. There had been a couple (okay, a lot) of close calls already, when the TIC had to split his attention between the bridge and the cameras, but Fixit had always just managed to get away unseen. Her tanks were beginning to run low, though, and the subsequent lessening of energy meant she was getting closer and closer to being caught each time.

It didn’t help that the spider’s pursuit of the Eradicon was triggering all sorts of flashbacks, either. The last couple of times Fixit had almost been caught were because she had started to have a panic attack in the hall. So far she had managed to drag herself out of it in time, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do for now but keep playing a twisted game of hide-and-seek with the other femme. Fixit just prayed Lord Megatron would get back soon…

 

Fixit huddled against the desk in Soundwave’s office, legs drawn up defensively. Knock Out had left Breakdown supervising the Vehicons to create a situation that required Airachnid’s personal attention just in time to prevent her from catching the exhausted Eradicon. Currently he, the spider, Lazerbeak, and Soundwave were all on the bridge. Ravage was curled up next to her, since the Vehicons had, if not regained faith in their Lord returning, at least quieted down enough that they could be watched solely with the cameras.

There was an active vid feed of the bridge running on the desk, but Fixit was too tired to pay it any mind. She slowly drifted off into an uneasy, light recharge, trusting Ravage to wake her if she needed to run again.

 

Soundwave checked the vid feed to his office as Knock Out and some Vehicons took Airachnid to the brig. His expression softened slightly behind his screen as he took in his exhausted Eradicon recharging in a ball against his desk, his oldest symbiont curled up against the other mech’s side.

His attention was drawn away from the feed abruptly as Lord Megatron’s signature suddenly showed up on sensors.

 

Fixit kneeled on the bridge, barely aware of what was going on. Ravage had nudged her out of recharge and onto the bridge insistently, before running off to join his host and sibling. She had stood there, barely conscious because of her low reserves, and knelt only because Knock Out (when did he get there?) tugged her down with everyone else.

She vaguely noted a commotion, along with…Lord Megatron’s voice? She raised her too-heavy helm with effort…yep, that was Lord Megatron. Along with…Optimus Prime…?  
…eh, whatever. Too much effort. She remained kneeling until someone tugged on her helm (from her shoulder? Oh, it was Lazerbeak). Shakily, she stood up, and following the little femme’s directions, wobbled off the bridge.

The symbiont’s directions led her to a room she hadn’t been in before, but there was a berth and Lazerbeak was telling her that it was safe to recharge here, and she was too exhausted to argue. Fixit stumbled over and barely made it to the berth before falling into recharge.

 

Soundwave ducked into his quarters to check on his Eradicon quickly. Lazerbeak raised his helm from where he was tucked against the other flyer’s chest to look at his host. When he was satisfied the silent mech wasn’t going to disturb his friend, he curled back up. The TIC just stood by the berth for a moment, watching his Eradicon curl tighter around his symbiont. He wondered briefly at the mech’s tendency to recharge in a ball, but wasn’t too bothered by it. He raised a servo and brushed it lightly over the helms of both of the two curled up on his berth, fingers lingering on his Eradicon’s. Then he turned and left, locking the door behind him, and headed off to edit the Nemesis’ data core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season One is Finished.


	19. Orion Pax is Adorable

_“You have a very…attractive presence, youngling. Your personality can be quite abrasive and repellent when you wish it to be, but people still gravitate towards you anyways. It is quite curious.”_

 

Fixit glared. The Vehicons on guard duty outside the energon storage fidgeted as ST-3V3 attempted to sink into the ground.

“Well? I’m waiting.” The Medical Apprentice tapped her pede impatiently as the other Vehicon stammered.

“I…well, I mean, it’s just a small injury and I didn’t want to trouble you…”

“…thereby deliberately disobeying my order that any and all injuries were to be reported to me as soon as possible?”

“…I was going to come tell you after my shift was over?”

Her glare increased. “Steve?”

“…Yes sir?”

“SIT.”

Steve sat.

 

“And next time, report the injury to me immediately! I might not work on it right away, but I need to know about it as soon as possible! Got it?!”

“Sir yes sir!” the Vehicons saluted instantly. Anything to stop the lecture!

Fixit huffed as she nodded decisively before stalking off…only to yelp as she crashed into someone right behind her. They fell to the ground in a heap, a loud ‘clang’ echoing down the halls. She sputtered indignantly, cursing as she tried to extract herself from whoever she had run into.

“Oh stop apologizing already! It’s partially my fault as well for not noticing you were there…” she trailed off as she finally untangled herself enough to see who she had run over.

“I still shouldn’t have been standing so close to you in the first place,” Orion Pax said apologetically.

_OhfragohfragohfragwhatdoIdolielieLIE!_ “…it’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’m just irritated with the fraggin’ toasters that refuse to let me do my job!” She raised her voice at the last part, causing the guards behind her to wince guiltily. Fixit huffed, before finally finishing untangling herself from the amnesiac Prime. She got up and, hesitating, finally offered a servo to the red-and-blue bot on the floor. Pax took it with a small, thankful smile as she pulled him up.

“Thank you. And I really am sorry,” he said sheepishly. 

Fixit shrugged slightly, starting to walk down the corridor. “No problem…” _Don’t ask don’t ask don’t ask_ “…did you need anything? I mean,” she amended hastily at his confused look as he followed her back towards his quarters, “Lord Megatron said you would probably stay in your quarters most of the time, so…”

“Really?”

_Frag, he’s getting suspicious lielieLIE!_ “…um, I think he might’ve been concerned about you…ya know, since you were held captive by the Aut…the Auto…our Enemies for so long.” _Frag why did I add that hesitation in there this is not a con job Megatron does not need my help why did I automatically start a con!_

“…are you alright?” Pax asked in concern as they paused outside his quarters. They were far enough away that the Vehicons couldn’t hear them anymore (especially since they were still cowed enough from her fervent scolding that they were pointedly ignoring them).

Fixit hesitated. _Do I really want to start another con…? I said I was done with them and I’m sure Megatron and Soundwave don’t need any help…but…last time I ignored my subconscious wanting to run a con, it nearly got me and all my family killed…frag. Guess I’m running a new con._

“I’m…let’s just say you’re not the only being on this ship that was captured by the Autobots.” She shifted uncomfortably under Pax’s surprised stare.

“You mean you…?”

She winced. “I don’t particularly like to linger on the memories…but if, I dunno, you ever need to talk about it…”

He looked vaguely apologetic. “I…don’t actually remembering anything before waking up with Megatronus standing over me. Sorry.”

_Aw frag, he looks like a scolded puppy! Curse my weakness for cute pleading things!_ “…it’s okay. Actually, I kind of envy you a little…I wish I didn’t remember…” she shivered minutely, barely noticeable unless one was watching her closely. “...right, I should get back to work now, see you later!”

“What? No, I, um, wait!”

The Eradicon paused in her retreat down the hall, half-turning to see the amnesiac run after her. 

“I, um…do you want to come in?” he asked hopefully, giving her the pleading optics again.

_Frag!_ she wailed mentally. _Conning him is going to be so much harder on me because of that look!_

“Er…alright, but only for a little while. I have more glitched toasters to hunt down and repair,” she muttered darkly, vainly attempting to ignore the way he brightened up at her acquiescence. _What have I gotten myself into!?_

 

:Fixit, what the frag are you doing?:

Fixit was distracted from Orion’s chatter about what he was currently decoding at Lazerbeak’s comm. She glanced at the oblivious mech and dedicated half her attention to him whilst she answered her friend.

**:Good question. I’m…not entirely sure myself how I ended up in this situation.:**

She could practically feel the little femme’s exasperation at her answer. :Seriously?!:

**:…yeah, I’m not entirely sure how I got here, but hey, I’m learning a Pit of a lot more about decoding encrypted archives!:**

:…:

**:…:**

:…Fixit…: Lazerbeak sounded pained.

**:Okay fine, look at it like this. Yes, he’s working slightly slower, but I highly doubt we can keep the truth from him forever. If he ever regains his memory, this way, we have two personnel who can help decode the archives.:**

:Two?:

**:Soundwave.:**

:Oh, right.:

Fixit turned her attention back to Orion to ask a question about something he just said. The mech smiled happily at her obvious interest and explained…in great detail. So glad Popcorn was a rambler off-duty. Otherwise I never would’ve learned how to pick out the pertinent bits of information from a long ramble.

:…alright, Fixit. The boss’ll try to convince Lord Megatron to let you continue to associate with Pax. Just…be careful.:

Fixit snorted mentally, still watching the happy puppy-bot. **:Don’t worry. I’m probably the last being you need to worry about giving away incriminating information. I’m more worried about him finding something in the archives. Soundwave is brilliant, but even he couldn’t edit everything in the data core in such a short amount of time.:**

 

Fixit had no idea how he had gotten it past Lord Megatron, but Soundwave had obtained permission for her to continue associating with/throwing off Orion Pax. The giant grey mech had threatened her harshly should she mess up, of course, but Fixit wasn’t nearly as worried about that as Lazerbeak thought she should be. After all, she had around twenty years of experience with pulling off successful cons- ones far more complicated than this. Lazerbeak didn’t know that though, so she was (mostly) forgiven for doubting the Eradicon.

It had been a while since she had pulled a con, though. Fixit just hoped she hadn’t lost her touch.

Time to make up her story…


	20. Starscream: Professional Ruiner of Plans

_“Youngling, if given the choice, would you like a ground-based alt mode or a flight-based alt mode?”_

_“GROUND!!!”_

 

Fixit ducked into Orion’s quarters, pressing herself tightly against the wall and out of sight. 

“Fix-?”

“Shh!” She hushed the mech frantically. “KO’s coming!”

Pax frowned, standing up and walking over to the door. Deciding to ignore the Eradicon currently trying to make herself invisible, he opened the door and looked out. He then promptly shut the door and burst into muffled laughter. His amusement finally set off Fixit’s laughter as well, causing her to bury her faceplate in her servos so as not to give away her location to the snarling doctor.

They listened to Knock Out’s curses come closer and then echo from further down the hall. By the time his voice had faded completely, the two were laughing so hard and putting so much effort into not being heard they had to lean on each other to stay upright.

“H-how…the frag did…you turn him…into a…human ballerina!?” Orion gasped, shaking in mirth as he leaned heavily on his friend.

“I have…mad skillz! With a…‘Z!’” Fixit cackled, clinging to the taller mech.

 

Fixit hit the ground hard as the Autobot drove over her, zooming down the halls. She groaned, cradling her helm. “Ow…stupid Autobot…”

_What the frag is the Autobot doin- oh frag, Orion! He’s here for Orion!_ Fixit scrambled to her pedes and took off running.

Fixit skidded around the corner to see the motorcycle roaring straight towards Soundwave. She straightened in alarm, only to gape mentally as the TIC activated a groundbridge at the last possible second, causing the Autobot to fly through it. He closed it and the next moment, Orion came around the corner.

_Talk about your close calls!_ she thought slightly hysterically. She’d always found close calls like that obscenely funny for whatever reason, and had difficultly hiding her amusement as she went to distract the amnesiac Prime.

 

Orion finally laughed as he opened the door to his quarters. “The poor Vehicon…”

Fixit grumbled as she followed him in. She had managed to convince the mech the commotion earlier was caused by her chasing a particularly stubborn patient through the halls. “I swear, when it comes time for a trip to medbay, everyone turns into overgrown sparklings…”

The amnesiac Prime just laughed at her disgruntlement. Fixit had managed to create a fairly impressive bond of trust between the two of them during the few weeks Pax had been on the Nemesis… which meant the mech was comfortable enough with her to tease her. Whoo.

“Aw, come on Fixit. They’re not afraid of medbay so much as they’re scared of you- with good reason!”

“Excuse me!?” the Eradicon bristled indignantly as Pax laughed, throwing his servos in the air in mock surrender. She pounced anyway, putting the mech in a headlock with one arm as she traced sensitive seams with her other servo. He laughed helplessly as she tickled him mercilessly.

“I give, I give!” he gasped, collapsing to the floor when she released him. He heaved air through his vents as she chuckled at his splayed-out form. 

“Had enough, Ryan?” she asked teasingly.

“Never! I shall never surrender to you!” he proclaimed breathlessly, waving his fist shakily at her.

But instead of responding with a scathing comment like he was used to, Fixit flinched, her wings hitching into a defensive position. Orion sat up, becoming even more worried when she reflexively took a step back.

“Fixit? Is everything alright?” he asked worriedly, reminding her of a puppy once more.

_Frag I feel so bad about lying to him…too bad having a conscience has never affected my performance._ “F-fine…just fine, why?”

Pax frowned. “You didn’t respond with a snarky comment like usual…”

She pretended to hesitate, making sure her body language indicated she was torn over what to do. “I…it’s just, I’ve heard someone say that before…to the Enemy. I-I never saw them again, but I…I heard them…no, never mind, it’s nothing, just don’t ever say that again.”

“Fixit…” he reached out and grabbed her servo as she turned to try and leave. _Hook, line and sinker. Now to get rid of my stupid conscience…_ He tugged her down to sit on the floor next to him.

She reluctantly turned to look at him when he squeezed her servo.

“Fixit…I know it’s painful for you to recall, but…what happened to you?” His optics shone with genuine concern, making Fixit feel even worse about deceiving him.

“I…if I tell you, you can’t interrupt till I’m done, ok? Otherwise I won’t be able to get through it all…”

He nodded his agreement without hesitation.

She vented heavily. “I…this is not my original form.”

“What?”

“What did I say about talking!?”

“Sorry!” He quieted at her glare, but refused to let go of her servo. Fixit decided to let it go, ignoring how good the innocent physical contact felt to her touch-deprived self.

“I was originally a Neutral, someone who wanted no part of the war between the two factions. For a long time, my colony lived in peace…and then the Enemy found us.

“Most of us were killed outright by the bombs or the shock troops. We few who survived were mostly used as a very ill-treated workforce, but a couple of us…well, Ra…Rat…the Doctor of Doom was in need of some test subjects. I don’t know what criteria he used to select us, but my brother and I were two of the seventeen subjects chosen.

“We were taken to a lab and…and experimented on. I-I can s-still hear the s-screams-s t-today…t-that’s why I’m-m w-working so m-much. If I d-don’t r-recharge, I d-don’t experience the m-memory p-purges of my t-time t-there.

“A-anyways, he…the Doctor of Doom p-performed a l-lot of experiments…including t-trying to transfer a spark from its o-original frame to a d-different one. He offlined a-all the other subjects trying it, including my b-brother…but for some reason, I s-survived. It was…it was j-jarring, waking up and l-looking over to see my o-own f-frame lying on the berth beside me. Fortunately for me, the D-Doctor of Doom never actually f-found out that the experiment s-succeeded with m-me. The Decepticons stormed his lab and drove him away b-before he could c-check on..yeah. S-Soundwave and Knock Out were actually the o-ones to discover me where I was s-strapped to the t-table, but I’m not sure if KO ever realized my o-original f-frame was the femme on the other table…

“S-so, yeah. When they r-rescued me, they gave me the option of finding another Neutral colony or s-staying on with them as KO’s Apprentice…obviously, I chose the latter. And…and despite what happened to me, I’m happy now. I-I was never very happy in the colony, and while I wish it hadn’t been destroyed, I’ve accepted the fact that it’s gone. I…I’m still g-getting o-over the l-labs, but…I-I’m slowly getting t-there. Slowly. And in the meantime, I’ve found something that I love doing: fixing people. That’s why KO gave me the designation of Fixit when I couldn’t remember my original one.”

Fixit finished the story she had come up with (and in only three breems, too! It was a new record for her…) and glanced up hesitantly to see Pax’s reaction.

_Yup, definitely horrified,_ she thought grimly as he expressed his sympathy and horror, ending with a vow that he would work harder than ever on decoding the archives. _Well, I might’ve changed a couple of minor details like it being Ratchet as the culprit instead of BlueJay and Knives, but it isn’t that hard to fake that kind of trauma when it’s actually happened to you. Lies are always more easily believed when there’s a grain of truth to them- or more than a grain, in this case. This isn’t actually my original body, after all…_

 

Orion Pax stared at the door as his winged friend left. _I can’t believe he survived something like that, and still had the will to continue on…to try and heal._ He clenched his servos, more determined than ever. _The Autobots must be stopped!_

He turned to continue working when his door opened once more and a figure with wings slid in.

“Optimus Prime?!” Starscream cried in surprise, aiming his missiles.

_What?_

 

Fixit swore as Starscream barreled down the corridor past her. She couldn’t get a clear shot with all the fraggin’ Roombas in the way!

The Eradicon sprinted after the Seeker, nimbly dodging Vehicons as the former SIC blasted out a door. He dove out, transforming, and Fixit took aim. Just as he was about to escape, she shot and hit his tail, causing the now-wounded mech to spiral to the ground. She huffed, lowering her gun as she glowered after his falling form and prepared to follow him…only to be stopped by a heavy servo on her shoulder.

“Leave him,” Lord Megatron ordered as he also glared at his former Second-in-Command. “He will not survive those wounds long, and you will be needed more in the medbay. Go!”

“Sir!” Fixit saluted and ran off once he removed his servo from her shoulder, surprised she had gotten away unscathed. She had at least expected some dents in her shoulder, considering how pissed off the Lord seemed.

 

Fixit was exhausted. First the Autobot damaged a slag load of Vehicons, then Starscream! She and KO had been practically working non-stop, especially since Breakdown was assigned to supervise the new mine next to the Space Bridge. But finally, finally they were done! KO had already staggered off to his quarters, leaving her to clean up the last of the mess. 

She was about to leave, already half-unconscious herself, when Lazerbeak contacted her. :Fixit? What are you doing?:

**:Quarters. Recharge. Need.:**

She could hear the symbiont stifling laughter at her mumbled words over the comm, but paid it no mind. She’d get him back later.

:…’kay, but the boss wants you to recharge in his quarters. There’s been some issues with Pax, and since he knows where your quarters are, boss wants you out of the way since you’re in no fit state to do anything right now.:

Fixit contemplated this a moment (or two or three, she was having some difficulty thinking), then agreed. Soundwave’s quarters were closer anyways, which meant more recharge. Yay, recharge! Recharge good…Fixit liked recharge…

 

Fixit just stared at Knock Out. Seriously? All the work she put into keeping Orion in the dark, wasted just like that? All whilst she was in recharge, too exhausted to do anything?

Well, at least Knock Out missed everything too. But seriously? Seriously? Was it even possible for a Decepticon plan to go correctly?

Apparently not if Starscream had anything to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Starscream. Ruining everyone’s plots since the 1980s.  
> So, yeah. The fic is going to start to get darker again. There’ll still be light-hearted moments, but there’s definitely going to be more angst than the previous chapters. Just a warning.


	21. More Episode Skipping!

_“Fraggit youngling! I have eons of experience with this, how are you beating me this badly?!”_

_“There’s a reason Popcorn and Callahan forbid me from playing poker.”_

 

Fixit was standing next to Soundwave, idly chatting with Lazerbeak as the TIC opened a groundbridge to where Lord Megatron was heading a mining operation at one of the coordinates provided by Orion. The reason Fixit was there and not with Knock Out in the medbay was because she was irritated with him and Breakdown. They thought it was great fun to sneak up and startle her as she was switching control with her subconscious. She disagreed…and they would too, just as soon as she figured out a suitable revenge.

She looked up as Lord Megatron walked through the groundbridge, clutching something in his servo. Then the Autobot scout burst into view, grabbed the package from the Lord’s servo before he could exit the groundbridge, and turned and ran. Lord Megatron immediately ran after him, leaving the crew that witnessed the altercation staring.

_…what the frag?_

 

Fixit suppressed the urge to yawn as Knock Out went on and on about his new force field generator and how Lord Megatron was allowing him to use it and yada yada yada. Seriously, cybertronians didn’t even need to yawn and he was driving her to it.

She glanced over at Breakdown hopefully, but he had clearly just offlined his audios again and was quite obviously ignoring them. She glowered, her wings twitching in irritation as she vowed to make him pay for abandoning her…again. But first…

**:Hey Laze? You free?:**

It took the flyer a breem or two to reply, during which she had to suffer through more of Knock Out’s preening. Finally, the symbiont replied.

:Okay, I’m free now. What’s up, Fix?:

**:Save me!!! KO’s preening again!!!:** Fixit wailed over the comm, thoroughly fed up with being a captive audience.

Lazerbeak burst out laughing, causing the Eradicon to bristle in indignation. He quickly choked back his laughter, but it was too late. Fixit now had two new targets.

:S-sorry, Fix. How long have you been trapped?:

**:Five joors.:**

:Ooo…yeah, I get why you’re pissed now.:

**:No, I’ve just been having a blast sitting down here with nothing to do, especially since KO won’t let me work!:**

:Wait, seriously? Why?:

**:How the frag am I supposed to know what the glitchy hairdryer is thinking!? Just help me get out of here, please!!!:** Fixit snarled, desperately trying to ignore the fact that she was coming very close to begging. She loved Knock Out, she really did, but sometimes the mech just pissed her off!

:Already on it. You should be free in three, two, one…:

Knock Out paused in his rant before his expression soured. “Fixit, Soundwave wants you to check over the energon storage compartment. Now,” he added bitterly. He still held a grudge against the TIC for the whole ‘stalking Fixit’ thing…not that that had ever stopped, but Fixit didn’t see any particular reason to share that with KO. Besides, Soundwave wasn’t as bad as he had been…although that might also have to do with the fact that she was actually seeking him (and therefore Lazerbeak) out occasionally as well…meh, whatever. Freedom!

“’Kayseeyoulaterbye!” she spat out as she all but sprinted out the door. Breakdown just laughed at her quick exit as KO was left gaping.

 

“Sooo…”

“…”

“…you brought back a really big hammer.”

“That no one except a Prime can use.”

“…”

“When you already have hammers.”

“…”

“…and you got totally smashed by the really big hammer.”

“…”

“…I kind of want a really big hammer now…”

“…Fixit?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up before I smash you with my hammers.”

“Sir yes sir, hammer-man sir!”

“Fixit!”

She ran away cackling madly as Breakdown chased after her, waving his hammers at her threateningly.

 

Fixit peered around the corner, Lazerbeak’s helm stacked on top of hers. The two of them were staring at the dark blue Seeker that was talking to Megatron, saying something about avenging his twin.

Lazerbeak was watching with Fixit because her way of doing things, while not always subtle, was definitely more fun than he would do otherwise. Soundwave had told him to stay with the Eradicon while the Seeker was around, too, which gave him the perfect excuse to be a dork!

Fixit, on the other hand, had mixed feelings about the Seeker. _He’s avenging his twin, huh? Well…guess he wasn’t close enough to him t’die with’im…bastard. Or lucky…can’t decide which. Maybe both. Suppose it all depends on whether his twin was a better brother than mine. Of course, the fact that he wants to avenge him at all pretty much guarantees that…_ She huffed to cover a sob as she stood up and stalked away. She hated and envied him for having a loving twin…mostly jealous, though. But at the same time, it’s not like she wants anyone to suffer like she did… _Right. If it’s this difficult to keep my composure when he’s not even here, best to just avoid him as much as possible. Stupid fragger, bringing back up all these old hurts…I had thought I dealt with this better. Apparently not._

 

Fixit flattened herself against the back of the tiny closet, not daring to move even so much as a millimeter. Airachnid was right outside the door, looking around and cooing for her to come out. Thankfully, the spider hadn’t seen her duck in here…but he had heard her moving around, and knew she was nearby. It was only a matter of time before he checked the closet.

She had almost made it to Soundwave’s quarters- the only place Airachnid didn’t seem able to find her in- but then she had heard the spider in the halls in front of her and quickly dove into the closest hiding place she could find.

Unfortunately, KO and Breakdown were in the medbay with patients, and Soundwave was stuck on the bridge. Ravage and Lazerbeak were making their way to her as quickly as they could, but it was highly unlikely they’d make it in time.

Her thoughts froze as the door rattled slightly…and then after a pause, Fixit heard Airachnid responding to his comm. She could hear the scowl in the femme’s voice as he started to protest being ordered out with Breakdown and Dreadwing to investigate a possible energon deposit. But eventually he bowed to the inevitable, and started walking off.

Fixit still didn’t dare to move, though, which turned out to be a good idea as the door to the closet was abruptly yanked open. Light flooded the small closet…and illuminated nothing but pieces of scrap and cleaning supplies. Airachnid hissed in irritation, optics passing over his prey’s hiding spot without realizing, before letting the door close and walking away.

“I will find you, my little Eradicon,” the spider promised, calling out to the empty halls. “And when I do, I’m going to take my sweet time with you.”

Physically, Fixit remained frozen as the other femme finally left. Mentally, she was panicking and halfway through a mental breakdown already.

_NononoNoNoNoNONONONONONO-!_

:Fixit! Where are you, it’s safe now!:

**:L-L-Laz-zerb-beak-k???:** Fixit asked shakily over the comm, her body still not moving a millimeter.

:…yes Fixit, it’s Lazerbeak. It’s okay. Ravage and I are here, there’s no one else around.: The little femme’s voice sounded very gentle and soothing, all of a sudden.

**:…n-no s-s-spid-der-r?:**

:No Fixit, no spider. Just Ravage and I.:

**:…S-S-Sound-dw-wav-ve?:**

:…Soundwave’s still on the bridge, but he’ll be here as soon as he can. Okay?:

**:’K-Kay…:**

:Good…can you come out now, Fixit?:

**:…s-spider-r…:**

Lazerbeak and Ravage were getting very worried for Fixit now, especially since they couldn’t find her. They knew she had hidden in a closet, but they didn’t which one. They had opened all of the ones in the vicinity they knew she was in, but hadn’t found the Eradicon at all. Not for the first time, they cursed Fixit’s significant skill in stealth. Ravage commed Soundwave and told him to hurry up while Lazerbeak continued talking to the terrified Eradicon.

:Fixit, there’s no spider anymore. The spider’s gone, okay? Where are you?:

**:S-spider b-bad-d…:**

:Yes, spider very bad, which is why we need to leave before he comes back. Okay?:

**:…:**

:…Fixit?:

**:…okay.:**

The little femme was relieved at that. It meant that Fixit was starting to think rationally again. 

:Okay, then I need you to come out.:

**:B-but…:**

:We need to leave before the spider comes back, but we can’t do that if you don’t leave your hiding spot. Okay?:

**:…:**

:…Fixit?:

**:…:**

:Fixit?!:

Lazerbeak was just about to comm the Eradicon again when a door slowly slid open across from them. Hesitantly, Fixit poked her trembling helm out.

“S-spider-r…g-gon-ne?”

 

Soundwave stalked through the halls quickly, rushing without appearing to rush. His symbionts had successfully gotten his Eradicon back to his quarters after much coaxing, but they still couldn’t get the mech to calm down. Currently, Fixit was apparently hiding under his berth, clutching his symbionts to his chest protectively. (He ignored their whining about how the mech always did this- it wasn’t like Fixit would harm them.)

His door opened and the TIC stepped through, wordlessly locking it behind him. He paused for a moment, staring at his berth. If he couldn’t feel his symbionts through their bond, he never would’ve been able to tell anyone was under there, much less a full-sized mech and two symbionts. But he could, so he walked over slowly and deliberately, letting his Eradicon know he was there. He sat down silently in front of his berth, giving the frightened mech a chance to figure out who he was.

He was tempted to lightly brush over the other’s mind to assess Fixit’s mental state, but didn’t dare do so. The last time he had done so whilst Fixit was panicking, his Eradicon had immediately screamed in fear and shock, locking down his mind completely and begging for mercy, pleading for it to stop, even though Soundwave had pulled back instantly at the first sign of distress. He…hadn’t quite known what to make of such a reaction, but was disinclined to touch the other’s mind when the mech was scared or panicking for fear of provoking a similar reaction again.

The silent gray-and-purple mech watched carefully as metal scraped lightly, almost soundlessly, under the berth and then Fixit’s dimmed optical band peeked out at him warily. It brightened slightly in recognition, and then Soundwave found himself with a lap full of shaking, keening Eradicon. He froze for a brief moment…okay, no, a long moment, and only his symbionts prodding him pointedly and repeatedly through the bond got him to actually move. He gingerly wrapped his arms around the mech in his lap, gently trying to reposition him so they would both be more comfortable. However, this only caused his Eradicon to tighten his grip…probably fearing that Soundwave would push him away…

Soundwave vented slightly in exasperation, but resigned himself to a mildly uncomfortable position. He did move them both around so he was leaning against the wall next to his berth, though. And as soon as he settled into position, his symbionts- who had escaped Fixit’s grasp when the mech glomped their host- settled against his lower legs. The upper part of his body was completely covered by a distraught Eradicon.

Soundwave leaned his helm back against the wall, resigned to being a pillow for the foreseeable future. He determinedly ignored the vindictive glee of his symbionts as the tables were finally turned- finally, it was his turn to be smothered by Fixit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel Lazerbeak and Ravage’s pain, Soundwave…feel it!  
> Poor Fixit…next chapter’s going to be a really hard one for her.


	22. ...where's Breakdown?

_“…I know you are tired of losing precious people, youngling. But my children have been at war for a very long time. Much as it pains me, not all of them will live to see the end of it…including those who might become precious to you.”_

 

Fixit was repairing a Vehicon- Steve, actually- when Dreadwing arrived with the news. She was focused on the repair, but was pulled out of it when there was a loud clatter behind her. She jumped, turning around to stare at Knock Out as he leaned heavily on a table.

“KO, what-?” she trailed off as he slowly glanced up at her.

He didn’t even need to say anything. 

She knew just from the look in his optics.

 

ST-3V3 watched worriedly as Fixit went very, very still. His optical band offlined, and he just stood there…silently.

Across the room, Knock Out was shaking as he slid to sit on one of the cushioned stools Fixit had originally made for a prank. They ended up being so comfortable, though, that the medical personnel had claimed them for medbay without them ever being used in a prank. Breakdown had claimed the blue-and-orange one…which was the one the Doctor was currently sitting on. Steve wisely didn’t mention that fact to him- he looked like he was barely holding it together as it was.

Out of all the officers on the ship, Breakdown and Fixit were by far the most popular among the crew. They were actually tied for first place, in fact…although that wouldn’t be a problem now. The rest of the crew would be devastated to learn of the blue mech’s offlining. Steve was sad too, don’t get him wrong, but…he was one of the very few who knew of how fragile Fixit’s mental state was. And the only reason he knew was because he helped hide the mech during one of his nervous breakdowns, whilst Airachnid was hunting the poor mech all over the Nemesis.

So while he would definitely mourn for Breakdown, he thought the mech would approve of him worrying about Fixit first.

 

Fixit barely noticed when Knock Out began screaming for everybody to get out, or when he began throwing things. She was aware, on a very distant level, of Steve grabbing her arm and carefully guiding her out of medbay, away from the danger. But it didn’t really matter. Nothing did. After all…

Breakdown was gone.

 

Steve carefully pulled the unresisting Fixit along behind him. He knew, from what he had seen and what little Fixit had told him, that the Eradicon was closest to Breakdown, Knock Out, and Soundwave and his Deployers.

Breakdown was offlined, and the reason for the Eradicon becoming unresponsive in the first place. Not an option.

Knock Out was clearly too busy drowning in his grief to even notice Fixit’s state. Not an option.

The only one(s) left were Soundwave and his minions, but they were currently supervising an energon mine and weren’t due back for a couple of cycles. So, not an option.

Which left Steve with…himself. His fellow Vehicons might really like (*Cough*Worship*Cough*) Fixit, but he had the feeling that forcing the Eradicon to socialize right now was A Really Bad Idea. He could probably pull in those favors he was owed, get his buddies to cover his shifts for him so he could take care of Fixit till Soundwave came back. ‘Cause he had the feeling the Eradicon wasn’t going to snap out of whatever this was anytime soon…

 

Soundwave couldn’t find Fixit.

His Eradicon wasn’t with Knock Out- apparently the mech had kicked everyone out of medbay when he found out his partner was offlined, and hadn’t unlocked the doors since.

Fixit wasn’t in his own quarters.

Or Soundwave’s quarters.

Or Knock Out’s quarters.

Or the rec room.

Or the flight deck.

Or the bridge.

Or the brig.

Or the energon storage.

Or the- well, the point is, Soundwave couldn’t find his Eradicon.

Where the frag did he go!?

Lazerbeak whined softly from where he was tucked up in his host’s neck, worried sick. Soundwave automatically reached up to stroke him soothingly as he stood in a random hallway, trying to think of where his Eradicon could be. He had only found out about Breakdown’s offlining two cycles ago. When he did, he immediately began rushing the mining operation as best he could without sacrificing quality or quantity. The miners had questioned his new drive at first, but word had quickly circulated that Breakdown had been offlined, and that Knock Out and Fixit weren’t dealing well. Soundwave hadn’t actually known that last one until he overheard a whispered conversation, and it did nothing for his worry. 

Fixit was most definitely not mentally stable, but he was very good at hiding it. So if even the Vehicons had noticed, Fixit must be really badly off.

As soon as was possible, Soundwave had returned to the Nemesis. He sent his symbionts out to look for his Eradicon whilst he reported to his Lord, and when he was dismissed, immediately joined the search. So far, however, there had been no sign of-

“S-sir?” a Vehicon spoke up from beside him. 

He turned to glare briefly at the mech, relishing in the slight flinch, before turning back to his search-

“I’ve been taking care of Fixit until you came back, sir,” the Vehicon admitted hesitantly. He flinched back when all three intelligence mechs spun to face him rapidly. “I…If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to him…”

Soundwave gestured impatiently for the Vehicon to go on, ignoring his flinch this time as the mech moved out rapidly.

He stalked behind the Vehicon as he led him down corridors to the grunts’ quarters. The Vehicon kept twitching like he wanted to say something, and finally he worked up the courage to do so.

“Fixit…has been in a very bad state. He…he barely responds to anything. He doesn’t refuel, he doesn’t recharge, he just…sits there. Sits there and stares at the wall blankly. Nothing I’ve done gets him to react.”

Soundwave was nearly frantic now. His Eradicon- his hyperactive, bouncy, bubbly, always-in-motion Eradicon- had done nothing but sit and stare at a wall blankly for five cycles!?

“I mean, if I press a cube into his servo and raise it to his mouth, he automatically drinks the energon, but I haven’t seen him recharge at all. And I’ve been with him all the time, I called in some favors and got my shifts covered so I could stay with him, but…yeah. Uh, we’re here.”

Soundwave waited as the Vehicon opened the door and entered first, even though he desperately wanted to shove the mech aside and charge on in. When the Vehicon was finally out of the way, he slipped into the room quickly and, catching sight of his Eradicon’s back as the mech stared at the wall, stalked over rapidly. He caught hold of the mech’s shoulder and spun him around…only to flinch slightly in shock at his Eradicon’s dead, blank gaze. He stared, absently noting the Vehicon shuffle his pedes and finally leave.

Slowly, Soundwave leaned forward and cupped his Eradicon’s helm in his servos, resting his chevron against the other mech’s forehelm. Behind the screen, his optics flickered over Fixit’s frame, focusing mainly on his optical band and wings…but neither was showing any emotion whatsoever.

Lazerbeak whined again, and even Ravage wasn’t bothering to hide his concern anymore. Soundwave slowly stroked his thumb along his Eradicon’s faceplate, but Fixit still didn’t react. It was like the Vehicon had said- the mech was unresponsive. Soundwave stared at the shell of his Eradicon for a long moment, considering the pros and cons, but finally decided on a course of action.

He told Ravage to lock the door, and set both him and Lazerbeak as guards. Then he carefully sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, and pulled his Eradicon down to straddle his lap. He placed his chevron against the other mech’s forehelm again as he wrapped his arms around him. Then he released his cables as well, wrapping one around Fixit’s waist and right thigh while the other plugged into the port at the back of his Eradicon’s neck.

Then, after venting steadily and calmly for a few moments to center himself…he dove into Fixit’s mind.


	23. Cybertronian...or Human?

_“…I suppose it is possible you could keep it hidden forever. But, if you did, youngling…I highly doubt you could ever be truly happy.”_

_“So the norm, then.”_

 

Soundwave had never gone too deep into his Eradicon’s mind before. Oh, he’d scanned and eavesdropped plenty, but he’d never actually immersed himself in Fixit’s mind before to the point where he could ‘see’ the mech’s mindscape. So he could be forgiven for gaping in shock for a moment.

Fixit’s mindscape was a damaged, run-down junkyard…a _neon-colored_ junkyard. Soundwave actually flinched from the intensity of the rainbow of colors, it was so disorienting. He put a servo out to steady himself on one of the junkpiles, and accidentally brushed against something that triggered a memory.

> Fixit cackled as she sprinted down a corridor, Knock Out chasing after her. He was yelling obscenities and revving his saw threateningly…but given that he was dressed and sounded like Elvis Presley, it wasn’t very scary.
> 
>  

 

Soundwave jerked away from the neon blue unidentifiable scrap. Okay, he had not been expecting that. Considering what he knew of his Eradicon’s personality, he had been expecting something…sneakier when it came to memory organization. Something that wasn’t quite so obvi- wait.

The silent grey-and-purple mech turned back to the rainbow scrap pile. He stared at it with narrowed optics (both from suspicion and the _sheer fraggin’ brightness!_ ) before slowly reaching out and touching a different piece of scrap.

> “Stupid fraggin’ irritating toaster-in-the-form-of-a-cat…”

 

Soundwave pulled his servo back. He considered the pile for a moment longer, then carefully extended a single claw and touched one tiny bolt in a larger piece of metal.

> “Fisa pwetty! Unca Cal, lookie lookie!”

 

Soundwave stared in surprise as a female human youngling dragged a…colorful-looking older female with white hair through a junkyard. One that looked very similar to Fixit’s mindscape…

 

> “Unca Cal!”
> 
> “Callahan, you won’t mind if I murder your niece, right?” The white-haired female called through gritted teeth, one eye twitching ominously.
> 
> “But Fisa look pwetty!” The youngling pouted up at the other female, lower lip trembling. The taller one (apparently designated ‘Fisa’) flinched, but was saved from having to respond as an older adult human male stepped out of a garage, wiping his hands on a rag.
> 
> “Alrigh’, so wha’s so…importan’…” the male trailed off, staring at the white-haired female in shock.
> 
> “Callahan…” Fisa warned, hand twitching. However, Callahan clearly didn’t take the warning as he burst into hysterical laughter. Fisa growled as the youngling giggled along with the male.
> 
> “Mawie make Fisa look pwetty!” the youngling informed Callahan, causing his laughter to increase.
> 
> Fisa snarled, pulling her hand gently out of the youngling’s before stalking away.
> 
> “Looking good, Fixer!” Callahan called after the white-haired female. She responded with a series of highly-inventive curses…curses that sounded eerily familiar to Soundwave.

 

He was jolted out of the memory fragment as it ended. Soundwave just kind of stared at the pile blankly for a long moment whilst he organized his thoughts.

Why did Fixit have a human memory (easily distinguished from cybertronian ones because of how different they felt), and why did one of the humans in said memory remind him of his Eradicon?

Soundwave turned and gazed at the many scrap piles (flinching at the undiminished brightness. Well, that was certainly a very Fixit way to protect one’s mind). He had the feeling the answer to his questions was somewhere in his Eradicon’s mind…somewhere further in, where it was better protected and harder to get to. The TIC vented softly. He’d better get started, there was a lot to sort through…and he still had to find a way to snap Fixit out of his unresponsiveness. Joy.

 

Soundwave rubbed his helm in exhaustion. The closer he got to the center of Fixit’s mind, the more human memories he found. He was reluctant to admit those memories might legitimately belong to the Eradicon, but the last memory had left him with very little doubts. It certainly explained just why Fixit was so petrified of Airachnid.

> An eleven year old Fixer ran for her life through the caves, trying to make as little noise as possible. If she was too loud, it would lead him right to her-!
> 
> “Heeere little freak…come on out and play with Knives! You’re such a good little freak, running for Knives like this…gets me all excited! I can’t wait to play with you, watch your gorgeous blood cover you, turn your freakish self into a work of art…first I’ll slice down your arms, watch your blood coat the cuffs. Then I’ll reopen those pretty little lines on your back, recreate my masterpiece anew…oh! I almost forgot to tell you ya little freak, I’ve got a new picture for your stomach! Yes…ha! When I’m done with that, you’ll be so much more beautiful…but nowhere near done, oh no…we won’t be done for a while…”
> 
> Fixer sobbed silently as she continued running, desperately trying to block out his voice. She scrubbed at her eyes with one hand, the other busy stemming the flow of blood from the design sliced onto her neck…and then she tripped, pitching headfirst onto the ground and sending rocks everywhere.
> 
> She lay there in a daze, blearily attempting to sit up…and then she was dragged up painfully by the arm.
> 
> “There you are, my sweet little freak,” Knives cooed in her face, leering. 
> 
> Fixer screamed.

 

The memory had ended there, leaving Soundwave unsure if he should be relieved or irritated. On one hand, it was disturbing watching that happen, especially if his suspicions about Fixer’s identity were correct. On the other, if he was right, it would give him a better insight into Fixit’s trauma and possible triggers to avoid.

Even if it was liable to haunt him in recharge. Formerly human or no, he did not like to see his Eradicon hurting and scared.

He was brought out of his thoughts by something tugging on his servo. He started, helm jerking up to see…Fixer. Not one of the older, more jaded versions of Fixer, the ten year old Fixer, the one he had most recently witnessed running from Knives (who was frighteningly similar to Airachnid). The one who was still bleeding sluggishly from her wounds!

“Fix,” the youngling said solemnly, tugging on his servo again and pointing towards the center of Fixit’s mind, apparently either not noticing or caring about her wounds.

Soundwave kneeled down in front of Fixer, gently raising a servo to ghost it over her injuries. (He ignored the fact that she came up to his waist like she would with a regular adult human- size and perspective was often distorted in mindscapes.)

Fixer shook her head. “No fix. Fix,” she insisted again, patting his servo thankfully before pointing once more.

He vented softly. “I can’t, little one,” he said quietly, gently closing his servo over her tiny hand. “I haven’t figured out how to get there yet. Fixit did a very good job of guarding the center of his mind.”

“Her,” Fixer said sadly. “Fix.” She tightened her grip on Soundwave’s servo and pulled weakly, trying to tug him along.

Soundwave looked at her carefully, before rising and allowing himself to be pulled along. “What do you mean ‘her,’ little one?”

“Fix. Fix fix fix, need fix,” Fixer said quietly, squeezing the TIC’s servo. “She hurt. Need fix. Fixer can’t fix. Soundwave need fix.”

Soundwave frowned thoughtfully as he followed the youngling- no, the personality fragment. This wasn’t Fixer herself, this was a part of her mind that broke off when she was young...a part that had never healed.

“Little one, who needs fixing?” he asked softly. He noticed they appeared to be going the wrong way, but Fixer wasn’t hesitating at all. Probably because she was part of Fixit’s mind, and wasn’t affected by the defenses.

“Soundwave need fix Fixit. Fixer can’t fix, Fixer no fix, only break, hurt, Fixer can’t fix. Soundwave need fix. Fixit need Soundwave,” the fragment explained in mild distress. “Need fix. Fix fix fix…”

Soundwave’s concern grew, and he opened his mouth to ask another question when they suddenly burst through an invisible shield. Abruptly, all the (blinding) neon was gone, replaced with dull grays and browns. There was a thin layer of fog on the ground, and the visible light was dim, mimicking twilight on Earth. And now that the neon was gone, the host mecha could see that the junkyard looked like it had gone through a war.

Fixer tugged on his servo again. “Fix,” she said quietly, pointing to a familiar garage before dropping his servo and stepping back.

Soundwave turned to her, wondering why she was moving back through the barrier. “Little one-”

“Fixit need Soundwave. Fixer hurt. Soundwave fix. Need fix,” she explained, then turned and left. Immediately after she exited, the ambient light brightened to the point where it looked like early evening rather than twilight.

Soundwave frowned at that. It was a bad sign for Fixit’s mental health if he- she- was uncomfortable around an old fragment of her own mind to the point where it was visibly reflected in her mindscape. He glanced back at Fixer- barely visible through the barrier- before walking slowly towards the garage.

He was at the entrance, and just about to enter, when something pitch black caught his eye. Black was the one color he hadn’t seen in Fixit’s mind, which made this memory fragment stand out all the more. Oddly enough, it was represented by a feather, rather than the usual pieces of random scrap. He reached out…and hesitated. He was getting a very bad feeling from this feather, but…he moved the last couple millimeters and touched it.

> Soren took a hesitant step forward. “Reina…”
> 
> “Fixer.”
> 
> “W-what?”
> 
> Her red eyes glittered dangerously. “My name is Fixer now, BlueJay, not Reina.”
> 
> His lips thinned as he realized she wouldn’t fall for the regretful brother act anymore. “Fine…Fixer. If you’re so attached to that stupid name, you can go ahead and keep it.”
> 
> The albino crossed her arms defensively, glaring at the fraternal twin she hadn’t seen in almost ten years. “Why did you come back? I was managing perfectly fine without you ruining my life all the time.”
> 
> He ground his teeth together, balling his fists at his sides, before flashing a tight, bright grin. “What, a brother can’t come check up on his baby sister?”
> 
> “Funny, I don’t remember you caring when you tried to sell me to that pimp.”
> 
> “…That was then, this is now,” he ground out, visibly restraining himself from attacking.
> 
> Fixer hummed, running an appraising eye over him. His dark red suit and black shirt, while of fine make, had obviously seen better days. It was torn, patched, and dirty, and hung a little too loosely off of the man’s frame. She could see the edges of bandages peeking out from his collar and left arm, and he was avoiding putting weight on his right foot as he watched her with a desperate, angry gleam in his cold blue eyes.
> 
> “…not so fun taking the fall, is it BlueJay?”
> 
> He growled. “My name is Soren…Reina.” 
> 
> She narrowed her eyes. “Fine…Soren. What do you want? And don’t try to feed me a line about you caring, I know better than that.”
> 
> He huffed, crossing his arms as well, only to lower them with a genuine wince of pain. “…I need your help.”
> 
> “…I have been arrested 17 times, been shot, electrocuted, stabbed, and poisoned more times than I can remember, almost drowned 3 times, and nearly sold as a sex slave because of you…and you expect me to help you?” she whispered menacingly.
> 
> Stupidly, the man didn’t even pause to consider his response. “That’s the only reason you exist, bitch. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your place already?”
> 
> Fixer snapped.
> 
>  
> 
> “And stay out, you fraggin’ bastard!”
> 
> Callahan wheezed, tears of mirth and joy streaming down his rough, scarred face as Fixer bodily threw the freshly-bruised Soren out of the brightly-lit gate. Her strong, wiry figure chucked his bag out after him, and Callahan collapsed in a fresh fit of laughter as it knocked the bastard back to the ground again. The albino shut the gate roughly and chained it shut as the man scrambled back to his feet in the darkened street, cursing impressively.
> 
> “You fucking bitch! How dare you attack me! Apologize right now, you fucking maggot whore!”
> 
> Fixer’s only reply was a raised finger. She spun and walked away, leaving Soren gaping behind her at her eloquent reply. Callahan was twitching on the ground in silent hysterics now, slowly turning blue from lack of air. 
> 
> The white-haired woman came to stand over the quivering mountain of a man. “Breathing would help, you know,” she said wryly, watching the laughing form of the retired soldier who saved her ass fifteen years ago fondly. “Otherwise, you’ll definitely suffo…cate…”
> 
> She trailed off, swaying slightly in shock as Callahan jerked and scrambled upright, echoes of the gunshot still ringing out around them in the dark night. She fell, dimly aware of Callahan catching her and yelling something over her head. The world spun, graying around the edges from the pain. Callahan’s voice wavered in and out, begging her to stay with him.
> 
> “…old on, Fix…n, help is…ay wi’h me, Fi…”
> 
> She caught sight of the broad hand cradling her face, covered in something bright red…but what…?
> 
> _Oh,_ she thought calmly, _that’s blood. My blood._
> 
> Mustering up the last dregs of her strength, she reached up and weakly grasped the redhead’s hand. Fixer smiled softly. “S’ok. S’not you faul’…”
> 
> Callahan was crying, she could feel the tears hitting her rapidly numbing face. “…on’t go, plea…”
> 
> “S’rry…” she mumbled, her eyes drooping. “L’ve oo…Da…”
> 
> Her world went black.

 

Soundwave stumbled back in shock, tripping over his pedes. He fell, only to be caught by someone behind him. The TIC jerked, turning partially in the supporting servos…only to freeze as he caught sight of his helper.

Fixit stared back at him blankly, her appearance flickering back-and-forth between the human she once was and the Eradicon he was so familiar with.


	24. Wake Up

_“…you are one sneaky fragger, youngling. Remind me never to piss you off.”_

 

Soundwave stood up, Fixit’s servos/hands sliding off of him. He stared at his Eradicon/human as her appearance kept fluctuating between human and cybertronian. She gazed back blankly, then turned and plodded slowly back into the garage.

Soundwave followed her carefully, pushing the last memory he had seen to the back of his mind. He’d deal with it later, once he had attended to Fixit. She wasn’t quite as unresponsive as she was in reality, but she definitely wasn’t all there. He was relieved she had caught him, as that meant there was still something in her broken mind he could save. Or fix, in Fixer’s words.

Once inside, Fixit dragged herself over to a desk covered in miscellaneous scrap, and plopped herself down on the stool beside it. The host mecha noted that the stool was an exact duplicate of her stool in the Nemesis’ medbay- and he hadn’t seen it in any of the other memories of the garage. Looking around, he noted other things that would only be present in the Nemesis’ medbay, interspersed with things from her human garage.

Glancing back at Fixit, he realized she was staring sadly at something on the table in front of her. Walking up behind her carefully, his vents hitched as he recognized a replica of Breakdown’s hammer. From the looks of it, and the other replicas scattered over the table, Fixit had been working on possible modifications for the hammer. Now, though, it just served as a painful reminder of what she had lost.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her shoulder. She didn’t move. He slid his servo around her to her opposite shoulder, leaning forward and tightening his grip on her in a sideways hug as his other servo came up to grasp her remaining shoulder. He gently rested his chevron against her helm/head.

“Fixit,” he murmured softly, genuinely concerned for her. Even after everything he had discovered- especially her fear of being discovered, the fear that they would hate her, reject her like her twin had- he still cared about her. He still loved her. She was his, human or cybertronian, and nothing would ever change that, no matter how much time passed. Soundwave knew, particularly with his recent knowledge of her death _(?!)_ , that she was still too fragile to know, unfortunately. But that was alright. He would wait as long as she needed…so long as she eventually got it. Like slag he was willing to suffer an unrequited love, he’d make her fall for him if needed.

Fixit twitched slightly at the sound of his voice, but otherwise didn’t react, continuing to stare at Breakdown’s hammer. Soundwave frowned, and pushed it away.

She jerked, looking after the hammer…only to slowly notice Soundwave’s arms around her. She turned her head/helm to look at him blankly, but the host mecha could see a glimmer of recognition in her optics/eyes…though they were slowly fading into optics only.

“Fixit,” he murmured again, reaching up to stroke her solidified faceplate, lingering slightly over her mouth. “Fixit. Come back.”

Her optics reset as she sluggishly focused on his screen, her form finally settling into that of a winged cybertronian femme. A beautiful winged cybertronian femme, with dark scarlet optics. She frowned slightly as his servo traced her face.

“Fixit,” he whispered softly.

“…S-Soundwav-ve?” she breathed out, obviously having a hard time focusing.

He vented softly in relief. “Yes Fixit, it’s Soundwave. It’s me. Come on.” He continued stroking her face tenderly. “Come back to me.”

She shuddered, leaning into him and shuttering her optics. “B-Breakdown…” she keened softly, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

He pulled her tighter to him, his engine rumbling quietly in reassurance. “I know, little one. I know. But he wouldn’t want you to do this. He wouldn’t want you to lock yourself away, he’d want you to live. To live and laugh and prank Knock Out mercilessly.”

Fixit sobbed out a laugh, turning to cling to Soundwave. It quickly changed to just sobbing, though. “B-Break-kdown-n…”

Soundwave held her tightly as she mourned for Breakdown, and for all the other people she had lost but never gotten the chance to mourn. For Breakdown, the first person to accept her in this world. For the family she had left behind when she died, Callahan, Marie, Raymond, the sparklings at the care center. For the ones she lost before that, Popcorn, Storm, Spitfire. And even for her twin, for the person he used to be…for the one who had loved her, a long time ago, before he was lost to her forever.

 

Soundwave came back to himself as Fixit stirred against him. His symbionts bounded over, bombarding him with questions and concern over their bond. He glanced at them as Fixit moved so her helm was buried in his shoulder, clinging to him as she shook slightly.

“I think you should be asking Fixit if she’s alright,” Soundwave rasped quietly, his vocalizer having gone unused for a very long time. His Eradicon twitched slightly at the sound of his voice, turning her helm to glance up at him worriedly.

Then she chuckled softly, still sad, at his symbionts reactions to hearing him speak aloud. And in front of someone who wasn’t them, even! What the frag!?

Soundwave’s lips twitched behind his screen, pleased that he had gotten even a weak laugh out of his Eradicon. Even though it meant he had to endure the even more relentless questioning now.

He vented gently, servo idly stroking Fixit’s back as she burrowed back into his shoulder, leaving him to fend off his ever-inquisitive symbionts alone as they clambered on and over the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Soundwave has gone from obsessing and stalking her everywhere to being in love with her. Hopefully the transition has been gradual enough that it’s at least fairly believable. I honestly didn’t mean to make him realize it this early, but he just took off with the story.  
> Please note, though, that Fixit doesn’t know about his feelings yet, and will not for a while. She’s just not stable enough to know yet…which means there will be little to no romance for a long time, as well.


	25. Avoidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, you thought Fixit would be just fine with Soundwave finding out about her past? Yeah, no.

_“…if you hate bright colors so much, why do you use them all the time?”_

_“So other people will hate them as well.”_

 

Fixit had attached himself to Knock Out. Again. Currently, the irritated doctor was stalking around the perimeter of the mine, with his Apprentice so close behind him he could feel the Eradicon’s vents.

Normally, KO would’ve cussed him out long ago and sent him elsewhere. But with Breakdown gone, he…didn’t really want to let Fixit out of his sight. He didn’t want to lose Fixit, too.

But that didn’t mean the fragging mech had to cling to him like a bad case of rust!

“Fraggit Fixit, stop doing that!” he exclaimed, rounding on the Eradicon. Fixit flinched back, wings dropping defensively. He looked like a kicked puppy, causing Knock Out to wince.

“Sorry…” he muttered, turning to leave, wings drooping in dejection.

KO groaned. “No, wait…fine, you can stay-”

“Really!?” Wings went right back up hopefully.

“-but you have to stay at least five meters away from me. Got it!?”

“Sir yes sir!” Fixit saluted happily, bouncing after the grumbling medic.

“Back to work!” Knock Out snapped at the snickering miners, vainly trying to ignore his sudden bubbly shadow. If he just ignored him long enough, eventually he’d go back to being all depressed again. And then he’d slink closer and closer, until Knock Out snapped at him again and the entire cycle would repeat itself. Again. For the fifteenth time. Fragging Eradicon…

 

Fixit was hiding from Soundwave.

She peered around the corner warily, using the other Vehicons to hide herself from view. Knock Out was talking to the TIC as he gave his report, ignoring the fact that the host mecha’s attention clearly was not on him. As soon as Soundwave had landed, he deployed Ravage and Lazerbeak to sweep the mine for her. But while Fixit wasn’t quite as stealthy as Soundwave, she was definitely good enough to prank the entirety of the Nemesis without getting caught, and just barely good enough to evade Ravage and Lazerbeak going full-out. She had to stay far away from Soundwave, though, because there was no way she could sneak past him without getting caught. He had already seen her once, and only the fact that he had to uphold a professional image in front of the troops prevented him from catching her.

She just hoped she could avoid them until it was time for them to return to the Nemesis…

 

Fixit swore. 

Soundwave and Ravage had returned to the Nemesis. Lazerbeak had not.

The little femme was currently following Knock Out around, knowing that Fixit would stay near him. Sneaky little hairdryer that knew her too well…

Fixit was currently plastered to a ledge high above the mine floor. She peered over the edge, noting Knock Out was getting anxious again. She had been out of his sight too long for his comfort.

She swore again, resigned to getting caught as she started climbing down. She couldn’t blame KO for wanting her to stay in his sight- she had been keeping him in hers, as well. Fixit just hoped Lazerbeak would hold off hurting her until KO went to recharge. She didn’t want him to see.

 

Lazerbeak trilled in relief and happiness as Fixit walked up beside Knock Out. He leapt over to land on his- her- shoulder, only to miss as the Eradicon flinched and darted behind KO. The femme landed on a rock, turning to look quizzically at his friend. Knock Out was staring at him too.

“Fixit?” KO asked in concern. He frowned as Fixit shrugged shakily, obviously searching for an acceptable lie.

Lazerbeak trilled and leapt. He missed once more as Fixit dodged again. He stared in distress at the Eradicon, who was carefully keeping Knock Out between the two of them. By now, all the miners nearby had stopped to stare.

“…oookay. Um, Lazerbeak, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to leave Fixit alone for now? He’s been…well, he’s still upset by Breakdown’s death, so…” Knock Out said, obviously trying to diffuse the sudden tension.

Lazerbeak stared unhappily at the almost cowering Eradicon, but reluctantly nodded his helm in agreement. Soundwave had specifically told him not to push Fixit too hard- her mental state was incredibly fragile right now.

That didn’t keep him from being hurt by his friend’s sudden fear of him, though.

 

Fixit stared blankly at KO, temporarily ignoring Lazerbeak as he cautiously edged closer to her. 

Knock Out looked back at her with a raised brow.

“…Starscream cloned himself and sent the clones to assassinate Lord Megatron,” she said slowly.

“Yep.”

“…okay, discounting where exactly he got the clones from in the first place…I have a new worst nightmare.”

Both KO and Lazerbeak looked at her quizzically.

“Four Starscreams. Think about it.”

It dawned on both of them at the same moment.

“By the Allspark…” Knock Out breathed in horror. “The screeching would never stop!”

Lazerbeak shuddered, looking like he desperately wanted to burrow into Fixit for comfort. He was thwarted by her moving to the other side of KO again.

 

Fixit whined, clinging onto Knock Out’s arm. He had been ordered back to the Nemesis, which would leave her alone with Lazerbeak.

“You’ll be fine, Fixit,” KO vented, patting her helm where it was gingerly leaning against his shoulder. She was being very careful not to scratch his paint, because then he would shove her off and never let her cling again.

Fixit just whined, tightening her grip cautiously.

 

Fixit flattened herself against wall, praying that Lazerbeak wouldn’t come over here- frag! She threw herself away from the wall and sprinted, the little femme hot on her heels. Fixit skidded around a corner, dodging Vehicons left and right, fleeing towards the entrance to the mine.

Lazerbeak was pleading with her over the comm to stop. He knew that if Fixit got outside, he’d never be able to catch her.

:Fixit, please! Why are you so scared!?:

She laughed bitterly over the comm as she vaulted a drill. **:So what, I should just go quietly and let you hurt me? Not a chance!:**

Lazerbeak faltered. :Wha- you think I’m going to hurt you?:

**:You know what I used to be! I don’t think, I know!:** she cried, very close to hysterics. **:So frag off!:**

:Fixit-! Please, wait! Please! Fraggit Fixit, please don’t make me lose you too!:

That last sentence caught her attention. She slowed briefly, before picking up speed again. Lazerbeak, realizing that got through to her, continued talking.

:Please Fixit, I’ve already lost my brothers! My twin! Please don’t run away, don’t make me lose you too!:

This time, Fixit stumbled, glancing back in shock. She quickly remembered she was running and picked up speed again.

**:You- you had a twin too?:** She asked haltingly, unable to stop herself.

:…y-yes. And I miss him every day.:

**:…:**

:His name was Buzzsaw,: Lazerbeak continued at Fixit’s silence, recognizing he was getting through to her. :I-I miss him so much. Him and all of my other fallen brothers…Frenzy, Rumble, and-:

**:Ratbat…:** Fixit sounded subdued, slowly coming to a stop right outside the entrance to the mine. Lazerbeak finally caught up to her, hesitantly moving to perch on her shoulder. The Eradicon flinched, but didn’t try to move away, even though she clearly wanted to.

:I…yeah. How did you-?:

She glanced at the little femme on her shoulder nervously. **:S-Soundwave didn’t t-tell y-you?:**

:…no. He just told us you…you used to be human. And…and why you were so terrified of Airachnid.:

**:…oh.:** Carefully, slowly, Fixit hesitantly reached up to stroke Lazerbeak’s wings. **:…did he mention my incredibly fragile mental state, at least?:** She added with dark humor.

Lazerbeak winced. :Ah…yeah. He- he did mention that. He was very clear that we weren’t to push you too hard. He didn’t want to hurt or drive you away.:

**:…drive me-? Oh. He just didn’t want to lose a potential resource, okay. Got it.:**

:What-!?: Lazerbeak sputtered. :I mean, yeah, a little, but mostly he just didn’t want to lose you! None of us want to lose you!:

Fixit turned her helm to stare at the symbiont in confusion. **:…what? But…I mean, I thought he only tolerated me because I was useful, and now that he knows…:**

Lazerbeak gaped at her before glomping the side of her helm in a hug and refusing to let go. :We don’t hate you, Fixit. You would never do anything that could possibly make us hate you. And we will never reject you. I promise.:

Fixit’s vents hitched as she flinched back. She curled up in a shaking ball next to the entrance, keening ever so softly. Lazerbeak’s words had hit home, and hit home hard. The little femme himself burrowed into his friend, clinging and murmuring reassurances over the comm.

:We won’t leave you, Fixit. Not ever. We won’t ever abandon you, I promise…I promise.:


	26. Relic Hunt

_“…you’ve definitely been here too long, youngling.”_

_“There’s nothing else to do!”_

 

“Why the frag did the Nemesis crash?” Fixit wondered aloud. Lazerbeak shrugged. They had both received the report from Soundwave, which had startled the Eradicon since she had never directly received anything from the host mecha before.

:I’m sure they’ll find out soon.:

“Yeah…” Fixit vented heavily, snuggling further in to the little alcove she had found high above the mine floor. It gave her a nearly complete view of the mine, and ST-3V3 was supervising the small part she couldn’t see, which made this pretty much the perfect location in her opinion. Lazerbeak was nestled in her arms, curled against her chest happily. They were both enjoying the contact now that Fixit had realized the little femme wasn’t going to reject and/or hurt her.

The Eradicon leaned her helm against the wall. “I feel sorry for KO. He’s either really bored or really frustrated.”

 

Knock Out just knew this was going to end badly. What the frag was Lord Megatron thinking, infusing the core of the Nemesis with dark energon!?

 

Fixit hummed thoughtfully. “Probably frustrated. Ah well, better him than me!”

Lazerbeak just shook his helm. That was Fixit for you.

 

Fixit was attempting a handstand at the entrance to the mine when Lazerbeak cried out. The symbiont fell off the rock she had been laughing at Fixit from, causing the Eradicon to hastily drop down and scramble over to her friend.

“Laze!? What’s wrong?!” she cried worriedly, scooping him up and scanning him frantically. “Lazerbeak!?”

:S-Soundwave…Ravage…: Lazerbeak whimpered, clinging to Fixit.

**:What!? What about them, what’s wrong, what happened?!:** the Eradicon cried over the comm, her concern only increasing.

:I- I…oh thank Primus, they’re still there! They’re still alive!: the symbiont sobbed in relief, burrowing into Fixit.

**:Fraggit Laze, what’s happening!?! Tell me!!!:**

:S-sorry, I just…I thought they vanished from the bond for a moment, but they’re still there, just…unresponsive. Like…like they’re in stasis lock or something.:

She hugged Lazerbeak closer, incredibly worried now. What had happened to Soundwave and Ravage that would put them into stasis lock!?

 

Fixit paced around the perimeter of the mine for the umpteenth time, Lazerbeak still held tenderly against her chest. It had been almost an entire cycle and they still hadn’t heard from the Nemesis! Nothing whatsoev-

Lazerbeak’s helm shot up as he trilled in relief. :They’re awake! And they’re okay!!!:

Fixit sagged in relief, wobbling over to slide down the wall. She curled around Lazerbeak, shaking slightly. She had been so afraid that she would never get to reconcile with Soundwave and Ravage, that they would offline before she could. But they were okay, they were alive…they weren’t going to leave her and Lazerbeak alone.

 

Fixit whined in frustration as Lazerbeak flew off to meet up with Soundwave. Ravage was remaining on the Nemesis whilst the two flyers went after one of the relics located, which left Fixit to supervise the packing up of the mine. Alone. Without anyone but Vehicons for company.

**:Come back safe. Please,:** she sent to both Lazerbeak and, before she could think better of it, Soundwave. Then she turned and began yelling at the fraggin’ Roombas.

 

Fixit stepped through the groundbridge back onto the Nemesis, the last one from the mine. It shut down behind her as Lord Megatron glanced over.

“Make sure the energon is stored properly, and then get to work on repairing the Nemesis. Give your report to Soundwave when he returns,” the Lord waved her off, choosing instead to focus on the newly-arrived Dreadwing.

She bowed briefly before heading out, resigning herself to a long cycle. Ravage met her just outside the entrance to the bridge, curtly informing her over the comm that if she ever tried to run from them again for such a stupid reason, he would rip off her slaggin’ legs.

Fixit stared at him for a long moment, then grinned mentally, her wings relaxing. “Message received, your majesty. Now come on, we’ve got Roombas to herd.”

Ravage gave a sharp nod and followed her down the hall. That was the main reason he liked the Eradicon so much- she understood his dislike of obvious shows of affection and respected it (for the most part), even if she didn’t share his dislike herself. Unlike Lazerbeak. Slaggin’ cuddle addict…

 

Fixit looked up as Knock Out walked into the medbay, Lazerbeak swooping in behind him.

“What happened to you!? Are you alright!?” Fixit cried, running over to frantically scan the beat-up doctor. Lazerbeak perched on her desk, cuddling up against Ravage.

Knock Out scowled, tossing something onto Fixit’s desk whilst she was busy fussing, just missing the symbionts. They hissed at him, causing him to snarl.

“KO?!”

“I ran into the Autobots and got run over by a train. Nothing’s badly damaged except my paint,” Knock Out said shortly, in a very bad mood. He glared at the symbionts on Fixit’s desk. “I need to check over Lazerbeak. You fix Soundwave’s visor.”

He pushed Fixit away as he stalked over to an examination table, curtly telling Lazerbeak to “get over here.” The little femme hissed, but complied.

The Eradicon stared at KO’s back, slightly hurt at him brushing her off so brusquely, but obediently went back to her desk. She picked up Soundwave’s visor, tracing the crack in the screen curiously.

Ravage stood up and moved to butt his helm against her. She rubbed his helm briefly in thanks. “I’m fine, Ravage. He- he’s just having a bad day.”

Ravage looked doubtful, especially since her wings were quivering sadly, but let it go. He curled up on a pile on her desk as she began looking over the damage to his host’s visor.

Suddenly, Knock Out burst out cursing. “Grenade!” he yelped, pulling it out of Lazerbeak and tossing it away. He dove for cover as Fixit lunged, grabbing Lazerbeak and vaulting over the table to cower behind it just in time.

The explosion shook the Nemesis as Fixit curled protectively around Lazerbeak. She peeked out after it was over, noting Knock Out and Ravage doing the same thing across the room.

“On second thought…why don’t you finish up here, Fixit? I’ll work on Soundwave’s visor,” KO stated sheepishly.

Fixit glowered at him.


	27. Kidnapped

_“…youngling, if I might ask, why exactly did you put up with your twin’s abuse for so long?”_

_“…because he made me think it was deserved.”_

 

Knock Out had finally finished repairing Soundwave’s visor, and had sent Fixit to return it. Lazerbeak, given a clean bill of health after Fixit had found and eliminated the Autobot virus in his systems, was perched on her shoulder as she walked along. Ravage was entertaining himself by weaving around Fixit’s pedes, trying to make her stumble without falling. The Eradicon was cussing the cybercat out as Lazerbeak just laughed.

Fixit stumbled through the doors, and almost crashed into Lord Megatron. “Fr- Lord Megatron! Ah, I didn’t- fraggit you glitchy toaster, stop it!” she snarled as Ravage attempted to trip her up yet again. “Sorry, sir!”

Megatron just raised a brow as the Eradicon saluted, Lazerbeak swaying slightly on her shoulder. He was still snickering as Ravage sat on her pedes, causing Fixit to twitch irritably.

“And what might you be doing?” the Lord rumbled, not sure what to make of Lazerbeak and Ravage’s obvious fondness for the Eradicon.

“Knock Out sent me to return Soundwave’s visor, sir,” she answered promptly, standing at attention.

Megatron opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off by Soundwave’s tentacle curling past him. It wrapped around the Eradicon’s wrist and tugged her over to him where he was working at the console. Fixit went, but tripped over Ravage as the cybercat was still sitting on her pedes. 

“Fraggin’ toaster!” she cursed, barely staying upright with the help of the tentacle. Megatron watched in amusement as the Eradicon danced across the floor to his TIC, trying to avoid stepping on the mischievous Deployer, cursing inventively all the way.

“Ha! Take that, ya stupid toaster!” she exclaimed triumphantly, pointing the servo holding Soundwave’s visor at the cybercat.

Soundwave reached across her to grab his visor, making the Eradicon jump.

“Oh, sorry- whoa, you have a face!” Fixit exclaimed, catching sight of the TIC’s face. He paused and gave her a flat, unamused look. She winced, looking away from his gorgeous purple optics. Wait, gorgeous? Where the frag did that come from? 

“I mean, that is- of course I knew you had a face, I just- I mean- I’m just gonna shut up now,” she ended lamely, ducking her helm in embarrassment. Soundwave smirked slightly, using his tentacle to hold his visor so he could pat Fixit’s helm.

She bristled. “Are you patronizing me!?”

Soundwave looked her straight in the optic…and slowly and deliberately nodded his helm. He smirked openly, making his narrow face even more handsome, as Fixit began cussing him out, patting her on the helm again. He chuckled quietly as she batted his servo away, nonchalantly replacing his visor and getting back to work.

Fixit twitched, making strangling motions, before scooping Lazerbeak up and dumping him on his host’s shoulder. She then produced a datapad from her subspace, slamming it on the console.

“Here’s the next stupid set of coordinates, you irritating fragger! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go repair more idiotic Roombas!” she snarled, starting to stalk away only to trip over Ravage again. “That’s it-!”

Megatron just stared as Knock Out’s Apprentice chased his TIC’s Deployer from the room, yelling death threats at the top of her lungs. He turned to his old friend as the shouts disappeared down the hall. “…Soundwave?”

The intelligence mech paused in his work to give his Lord his attention.

“What was that?” Megatron asked, honestly baffled.

“…Fixit: Soundwave’s,” the usually-silent mech answered.

Megatron just stared at his TIC’s back as the mech returned to his work. Well, that was…unexpected.

 

Fixit grumbled as she supervised the miners. This was so incredibly boring, and she didn’t have anything to do! She’d already finished decoding the section of the Iacon archives Soundwave had sent with her, finished planning seven new pranks- including her revenge against Soundwave, although she wasn’t really expecting it to work- and hated micromanaging, which left her with nothing!

_Might as well go try some acrobatics outside the cave,_ she thought irritably. _There’s more room out there, after all._

 

Fixit was turning cartwheels when she heard a rock fall behind her. She paused, turning to look…only to be met with a rock to the face. She went down, hard.

 

Starscream hissed in triumph, just barely remembering to keep quiet. Yes! Now his T-Cog could be replaced safely!

He paused. “Wait…how am I going to get him out of here?”

 

Fixit groaned as she came to. _Oh, her aching helm-! What happened?_

“I see you’re finally awake. How are we feeling today?”

Fixit jerked upright to stare at the Seeker standing before her...or tried to. She was tied down to a table. “Starscream!?”

“The one and only,” he preened. “So good to see you again, Fixit. I trust you have been well?”

She stared at him. “…what do you want, Creamer?” she asked in resignation, discreetly testing her bonds.

“What, I’m not allowed to inquire about your health?” Starscream asked, mildly offended.

“The only reason you would care about my health is if you needed me to do something. What do you want?”

He scowled at her. “Well, as it so happens…I find myself missing my T-Cog.”

She vented. “And you want me to replace it for you. Great. I don’t suppose you have a replacement?”

He eyed her suspiciously. “…yes, actually. I do. Why are you being so cooperative?”

“Because despite what everyone seems to think, you are actually very smart, Creamer,” Fixit explained, giving up on escaping her bonds anytime soon. “There’s no way you’d be willing to let me operate on you without something solid to hold over my helm. So, while I realize I’m probably going to regret asking this, what are you going to hold over me?”

Starscream stared at her oddly. “You…really are an odd one, aren’t you?”

She snorted. “I’m planning to prank Soundwave. Suicidal might be a better word.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“Ah…yes, suicidal is probably a better word. Wait, you’re distracting me again! Fraggit Fixit, stop doing that!” the Seeker snarled, looming threateningly over her.

“Well, it’s not like I can do anything else to resist you right now…” she pointed out, her wings twitching slightly. The position she was in was incredibly uncomfortable for her wings.

Starscream paused, looking at her strangely. Fixit froze, a shiver of dread running down her spinal strut. The Seeker tilted his helm, optics watching her closely as he raised a servo to delicately lay it over her right wrist. Then he blinked, shaking himself slightly.

“You wished to know what I have to hold over your helm, yes?” he inquired menacingly, servo still on her wrist.

“That would be nice, yes,” Fixit agreed, outwardly calm. Internally, though, she was freaking out. _Why was Starscream still touching her get off get off get off!_

She firmly repressed her emotions, knowing that panicking would only decrease her chances of making it out alive.

“Well…” Starscream smirked, causing her to stiffen. “I believe this will convince you…yes?”

Fixit glared. “Ya know, just a detonator by itself isn’t very threatening…?”

Starscream chuckled, idly tossing the remote detonator in his servo. “Until you consider the fact that the explosive it connects to is located directly over your spark chamber…little femme.”

Fixit froze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Starscream is the first to find out Fixit is a femme.  
> Soundwave and his symbionts know she used to be a female human, yes…but they don’t know her spark is a femme spark…


	28. Escape

_“You have a very hard time doing nothing, don’t you?”_

_“…I just hate being useless.”_

 

Starscream watched Fixit through narrow optics as she finished up. “And that’s it?” he demanded suspiciously. “I can transform now?”

Fixit grunted irritably, focused on her work.

“Fixit!”

“Yes Creamer, you can transform now. Happy?”

“Immensely…once I ensure you aren’t lying, of course. Come,” the Seeker stood up as the Eradicon finished putting away her tools. “We can’t have you escaping or attacking me whilst I go for a spin, now can we?”

Fixit’s engine rumbled dangerously, but she obediently followed the Seeker to a cell and glared as he locked her in.

“Such a good little femme…” he cooed, smirking at her snarl. “Now don’t go anywhere, little femme…I will still have need of you when I return.”

Fixit glared after him till he was gone. She waited a little longer, just to be sure he was gone, then sank down and opened her chestplates. She could just barely see the reflection of her spark in a shinier part of the wall…and the edge of something covering her sparkchamber.

She growled in frustration, reaching her servo in to delicately trace over her sparkchamber until they reached the…slaggit. Creamer hadn’t been lying, there really was an explosive there. And without being able to see it, she had no way of removing it safely…which meant she was stuck at Starscream’s mercy. Her only chance was if she managed to get ahold of the detonator, but there was no guarantee the Seeker didn’t have a backup.

She closed her chest, straightening up to glare at the door. Starscream would mostly likely be completely distracted by flying after being grounded for so long. The only question was, could she get out, scout the ship, cover her tracks and get back in the cell before Starscream came back?

Fixit smirked mentally. Of course she could.

 

Fixit groaned mentally as she worked on repairing all the random junk Starscream had brought her. Outside the cell, the Seeker just droned on and on…

Retreating into her mind and ordering her subconscious (aka Fixer) to alert her if Creamer made a move to deactivate the cell bars, she pondered her dilemma. 

She had been stuck on the Harbinger- she found out the name of the crashed ship on one of her scouting expeditions- for about two Earth weeks. 

Unfortunately, none of the communications systems seemed to work (for her, at least), and when Starscream had knocked her out with the rock, he damaged several of her systems. Meaning everything except her short-range comms were down.

Her left audio was also slightly damaged, her faceplate was dented so severely it was extremely hard to consume energon, and her optical band was badly cracked. Everything was kind of blurry, which only made repairs and sneaking about harder.

Also, she had a huge rip in one of her wings. Starscream had actually been genuinely apologetic about that- apparently when he had transported (re: dragged) her back to the Harbinger her wing had caught on something and he didn’t realize it until he had heard the ripping sound.

Fixit was just glad Starscream had deactivated her sensors before she woke up…and allowed her to leave them off. Her wings were so sensitive that even gripping them too tightly caused her pain. She shuddered to think about what a massive tear would feel like.

But moving on…she had yet to discover the location of the Harbinger, or figured out a way to get the detonator from Starscream. And even if she did get it, it was useless unless she found some way to incapacitate or delay the Seeker long enough for her to escape. Fixit knew she didn’t have a fraggin’ chance of outflying Starscream- he was appointed Air Commander and SIC for a reason. Therefore, her only chance lay in sabotage. But how…

 

Fixit worked stiffly in the lab, all too aware of Starscream’s lingering optics. Ever since the Seeker had found out she had a femme spark, his interest in her- which she had actually noticed before he left the Decepticons, she’d appreciated Soundwave’s interference- had only increased. She still looked like a typical Eradicon (mostly, at least), so the increase in interest had to be because of her spark.

Frankly, she was just glad he was still too wary of her making a grab for the detonator to come close to her without the cell’s force-field in the way. But she didn’t expect it to last forever, making her very glad her escape plan was almost ready.

Fraggit, she missed Soundwave, Lazerbeak, Ravage and Knock Out so badly…

 

“I’m impressed by your good behavior, Fixit…makes me think I should’ve tried something like this long ago,” Starscream hummed, gently tracing a servo over her newly-repaired wing.

Fixit stiffened, having just turned the sensors in that wing back on. But to her horror, she found that the Seeker’s touch actually felt good! Well, it made sense, considering he also had wings…but that didn’t mean she had to like it-! Oh, wait…her plan was ready to go, she just needed the detonator…so maybe…

She shifted slightly, pretending unease, but hesitantly, seemingly unconsciously, pressed her wing back into his servo. She scowled mentally at his smirk, instead pretending not to notice it as she made a show of focusing on her work.

“You have been quite a good little femme these past weeks…” he mused, beginning to trace small, delicate patterns on her wing. “I think you deserve a reward…”

Fixit hissed mentally, furious at how he was touching her. _Only Soundwave gets to do that, you bastard-! Wait, what did I just think!?_

Taking advantage of her distraction (assuming it to be because of his actions), Starscream leaned in close to her audio. “Would you like a reward…Fixit?” His touch abruptly became a long, sensuous stroke of her wing.

The Eradicon shivered involuntarily…and then deliberately relaxed back into him, causing Starscream to grin triumphantly.

And then Fixit punched him in the face.

He fell back, the detonator falling from his grasp as Fixit pulled out a make-shift version of KO’s electro-shock staff and shocked him with it. Dropping the fried shocker (she knew when she made it that it would only be good for one use), she scooped up the detonator and ran, leaving the Seeker twitching on the floor.

She sprinted through the Harbinger, wobbling dangerously due to her unrepaired damage, praying that Starscream would be out of it long enough that she could get away. 

She reached the entrance and was just about to transform when she was shot in the back. Crying out, she stumbled, hearing Starscream run up behind her cursing her name. Shoving the pain aside, she shot a glare back over her shoulder as she pulled out her own remote detonator and pressed it. The charges she had set over the entrance exploded, bringing rubble down between her and the Seeker. Fixit was still too close to the explosion, though, and was battered by rubble as she stumbled away. 

Her world spinning, she staggered out into the sunlight. Fixit fell to her knees briefly before forcing herself back up, knowing the explosion would only delay Starscream so long. Unfortunately, her wing had reopened in the explosion, but Fixit knew her only chance of escape was through flight. So painfully, she forced herself to transform and took off, weaving and lurching through the air erratically. 

She was so disoriented from the explosion that she had no way of knowing which direction she was going- all she could comprehend in her state was that it was away from Starscream. Distantly, Fixit just hoped that she would come across a Decepticon sooner rather than later, because she definitely wasn’t going to last long like this.

 

Lazerbeak snarled in frustration. He and Ravage still hadn’t found so much as a trace of their missing Eradicon! Soundwave had to focus mainly on decoding the archives, but he still helped his symbionts out whenever he could. None of the intelligence mechs had gotten much recharge since Fixit had disappeared.

Knock Out was also deeply worried, but Dreadwing had simply commented that maybe the drone had just deserted. Only Megatron’s intervention had kept the four of them from tearing the Seeker apart, Soundwave having actually slammed the larger mech against a wall before his Lord ordered him to stand down.

It didn’t change the fact that Fixit was missing, though. Missing and most likely hurt, judging from the small amount of energon found outside the mine Fixit had disappeared from! Who knew what had happened to her! They had to find her as soon as possible! (Lazerbeak absolutely refused to consider the possibility that there might not be anything left to find- it just wasn’t going to happen. Fixit was alive…she had to be.)

A sudden surge of triumph came over the bond from Ravage. He had found her!

 

Soundwave ran out of the groundbridge, Lazerbeak and Ravage immediately deploying to help search the area for Fixit. Ravage had found a human report of a strange, damaged jet with peculiar markings. Looking closer at the picture before he deleted it, the jet was clearly Fixit’s alt mode, seeing as only she had cybertronian Medical Apprentice insignia. The report stated that the jet had crashed somewhere in Yellowstone State Park, meaning they would have to work fast to find Fixit before the human authorities did.

Soundwave scanned his sector, quickly picking his way through the rocks…and then re-scanned it. Then he sprinted over to the steadily weakening cybertronian signal, comming his symbionts the information quickly. He could see smoke rising, now, and slid down a slope to fall to his knees next to the crumpled form of his Eradicon. He scanned her and bit back a curse. He needed to get her to Knock Out now!

Scooping her up, he ran for the groundbridge. The jostling apparently shook Fixit out of unconsciousness, her optical band flickering. “S-S-Sound-d-dwav-v-ve?” she rasped weakly, lifting a shaky servo to grasp at the top edge of his chestplate.

“Shh, conserve your energy,” he hushed her softly as Lazerbeak and Ravage fell into a protective formation around them. “We’ll be back on the Nemesis soon.”

“B-Bo-o-omb,” she breathed, causing Soundwave to skid to a halt. “C-Cream-mer-r…p-put-t o-over-r s-spar-rk-k…”

Soundwave growled, kneeling and holding Fixit against him carefully as he commed Knock Out and told him to _get out here now!_

Gently, but quickly, he reached for her chest. Fixit flinched back weakly, causing him to mentally curse Starscream furiously even as he soothed his injured Eradicon. Slowly, gripping the edge of his armor tightly, she opened her chestplates.

Soundwave glanced down…and froze. He then shook himself mentally and focused on the bomb he could see wrapped around his Eradicon’s sparkchamber. Carefully, he reached in and started to remove the bomb, studiously ignoring the way the femme _(!?)_ would shiver whenever he brushed against her sparkchamber. 

He finally removed the explosive, giving it to Lazerbeak to dispose of, and gently coaxed Fixit into closing her chestplates just as Knock Out slid to a halt by them.

The red doctor cursed impressively- apparently he’d been hanging around Fixit too long- and immediately began working on her, not even bothering to tell Soundwave to move. Which was a good thing, because the TIC definitely wasn’t going to let go of his Eradicon anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Soundwave and his symbionts know. Because Starscream couldn’t remain the only one who knew.  
> …aaaand Soundwave’s going to be even more protective than usual. But really, can you blame him?


	29. Upgraded

_“…I’m almost afraid to ask, but…how the frag did you get a rubber chicken and glitter here!?”_

 

Fixit woke up suddenly. She stared blankly at the metal ceiling of the Nemesis’ medbay. _Wait, when did I get to the Nemesis…? Oh, right. I escaped._

She started cackling as she remembered Starsceam’s face just after she punched him. Oh, so satisfying!

:Fixit! You’re awake!: Lazerbeak cried as he abruptly glomped her from out of nowhere. He didn’t even care about the maniacal cackling right now, he was just glad the Eradicon was awake!

“Whoa, where’d you come from!? Er, I mean…hey Laze, what up?” Fixit commented as she sat up, a servo coming up to cup around the symbiont. She then reset her optics at the sight of her frame. “…um, why am I so shiny? And weird-looking? And…did Knock Out change my paintjob?”

Indeed, Fixit was very shiny, with a new dark blue, dark purple and ice blue color scheme…and it appeared her frame had been modified as well. Her basic frame-type was still clearly based off of an Eradicon, of course, but now there were some very notable differences underneath the shine. She frowned as she looked over her frame. Knock Out had really gone to town…wait, hold on, back up!

Fixit’s servo shot to her faceplate, feeling it frantically. Then she leapt to her pedes and ran to a particularly shiny section of wall, before proceeding to gape at her reflection. 

“I see you’ve discovered the largest upgrade I performed whilst you were unconscious,” Knock Out said with poorly-hidden relief that she was up. He walked up to casually lean against the wall, facing her.

“I…I have a face!” Fixit gaped, staring at her reflection. Two wide dark scarlet optics, set in a pale ice blue face with a gaping mouth, stared back at her. Shakily, Fixit lifted a servo to trace over her fine, almost delicate features in wonder.

Knock Out smirked fondly as he watched his Apprentice admire the modifications to her frame. “Yes, well…I thought your perfect poker face was rather unfair, so when the opportunity to eliminate that advantage presented itself, I took it.”

Lazerbeak trilled softly from her shoulder, leaning into her. :You look really pretty, Fixit.:

“…thanks, KO,” Fixit said softly, tearing her gaze away from her reflection to give the doctor a soft smile.

Knock Out had a sudden coughing fit, jerking away from the wall to stride across the room hurriedly. “…it’s fine, don’t mention it. And now that you’re up, get back to work! There’s been a massive backlog of things to do without you here to help.”

Fixit grinned, relishing the fact that she could actually feel herself smile for the first time in years. “Sir yes sir!”

 

“Honestly, I’m gone for almost twenty cycles and everything goes to the Pit…” Fixit grumbled as she worked on yet another Vehicon.

ST-3V3 snickered, handing her a wrench when she held her servo out imperiously. “That’s because you have one of the largest workloads of anyone on the Nemesis.”

“Fraggin’ irritatin’ Roombas…” Fixit griped. “I swear, I’ve repaired pretty much the entirety of the Vehicons by now!”

“Um…I think there’s two more left to go, and then you’ll have gotten us all.”

“Are you fraggin’ serious!?”

 

“Yeeees! Freedom!” Fixit cried as she burst out of medbay, leaving Knock Out laughing behind her. The doctor had finally declared her fully repaired and free to leave, which she had taken advantage of right away.

She danced down the halls happily, dodging Ravage’s attempts to trip her. She passed by Dreadwing talking to some Vehicons, the grunts laughing whilst the Seeker just stared at her in surprised disapproval. Fixit waved cheerfully at him, laughing at his scowl and taking off down the corridor, doing a cartwheel at one point to avoid falling on Ravage.

Lazerbeak screeched gleefully as Fixit caught him as he swooped at her, proceeding to twirl him around. Finally reaching her destination, the Eradicon tossed the symbiont off the Nemesis, leaping off after him.

Ravage sat down and watched in fond amusement as the two flyers joyfully flipped through the sky.

 

“Hah! I win again!” Fixit threw her arms in the air triumphantly as Ravage and Lazerbeak cursed. Even with a face, the Eradicon still had the perfect poker face!

:How the frag are you so good at this!?: Lazerbeak cried in dismay, throwing his cards down on the table, just missing his sulking brother.

“I am the master of poker,” Fixit proclaimed smugly, delighting in her newfound ability to smirk. “There was a reason no one would play against me before.”

The symbionts growled in frustration at her, but were cut off by Soundwave walking in. They all looked up at him from the floor of his quarters, Fixit furthest from the door…and therefore Soundwave.

“Ummm…” Fixit fidgeted, not knowing what to say. She hadn’t actually had a chance to talk to the TIC since she started avoiding him all those cycles ago. You know, besides when he removed the bomb from her sparkchamber, but she wasn’t exactly coherent then…

Luckily, Soundwave didn’t share her hesitation. He stalked over and yanked her up into his arms, clinging to her tightly as he rested his helm against her shoulder. Slowly, shakily, she returned his embrace.

Lazerbeak and Ravage busied themselves cleaning up the game of poker, giving their host time to reassure himself Fixit was alright.

“…don’t ever do that to me again,” Soundwave raised his helm to whisper into his Eradicon’s audio, causing her to shiver slightly.

“…sorry,” Fixit said meekly, ducking her helm to bury it in the crook of his neck. He vented shakily, leaning his helm against hers as he gently stroked her back. 

She slowly relaxed against him as his symbionts settled on their pedes, finished cleaning up. They stood there like that for a long time, all of them just enjoying being safe and together for the first time in a long while. Fixit nuzzled into Soundwave contentedly, enjoying his strong embrace and tender caresses, feeling the stress of the past two weeks just melt away. She finally felt safe again.

Unfortunately, the content atmosphere was ruined when Soundwave’s servo ‘accidentally’ brushed over Fixit’s wing. He raised his helm to look at her in concern at her violent flinch, pressing further into the host mecha in an attempt to get away from his servo.

“Fixit?” he questioned softly, removing his visor with a cable to frown at her.

“S-sorry,” she stammered, keeping her optics downcast. “It’s just…it’s nothing…”

He scowled lightly at her, deliberately ghosting his servo over her wing again to receive the same reaction. “Fixit,” he demanded, tightening his grip as the Eradicon tried to pull away.

“I don’t-!” She made the mistake of meeting his worried purple optics, and deflated almost instantly. She looked away, embarrassed. “…Starscream kept caressing my wings. And I pretended to give into the touches in order to get the detonator,” she confessed, ashamed for some reason.

Soundwave growled, pulling Fixit tighter to him as he started planning revenge on the Seeker for daring to touch what was his. He had to put it aside for now, though, in order to reassure his cringing Eradicon.

“You did what you had to do to escape, Fixit. And I promise you, he will pay,” the TIC promised darkly, starting to stroke her back again.

“I know that, I just…when you touched my wing, I immediately associated it with Creamer and I don’t want to associate that with Creamer! I want to associate that feeling with you!” she pleaded, not realizing what she had just said.

Soundwave stared at her, stunned, but all she did was cling tighter to him, his silence scaring her slightly.

“…then we’ll just have to change that association,” he said finally. Fixit glanced up at him in question, only to gasp and flinch slightly as he stroked her wings firmly.

“S-Soundwav-ve?” she questioned shakily, her wide dark scarlet optics staring at him in shock.

“How good are you at keeping up your poker face under duress?” Soundwave smirked, causing her vents to hitch.

“…v-very, why?” she asked, eyeing his roguish smirk warily.

Soundwave just chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember how I said there wouldn’t be any romance for a while? Yeah, Fixit and Soundwave kind of decided otherwise. It’s only going to be just flirting for now, though. Hopefully.  
> It is Soundwave and Fixit, though…


	30. Revelations and Suicidal Retribution

_“*chuckle* Solus would’ve liked you…”_

_“Who the frag is Solus?”_

 

“Oh Steeeve!”

ST-3V3 groaned as Fixit skipped over to him.

“What, are you not happy to see me?” she feigned hurt.

“…don’t get me wrong, sir, I am very happy to have you back safe and sound. We all are. But…”

“But?”

“But I have the feeling you’re going to manipulate me into getting you pranking supplies again.”

“Moi? Manipulate you?”

“Yes. You.”

“Eh, fair enough. So…”

He vented in exasperation. “What do you need sir?”

“That’s a good Steve…” she patted him on the helm, causing him to glower at her. “Now, here’s what I need…”

 

“…sir?”

“Yes Steve?” Fixit hummed cheerfully, sorting through her ill-gotten gains.

“Do I want to know what this is for?”

She paused and turned to look at him seriously. She put her servos on his shoulders and looked him straight in the optic. “Steve…”

“…yes?”

“You Don’t Want To Know.”

“…okay. Got it. I’ll…just be going then.”

“Probably for the best.”

“Yep.” He paused, looking back at her. “Sir?”

“Mm-hm?”

“It’s good to have you back.”

“…it’s good to be back, Steve. Now flee in terror, you seriously don’t want to get involved.”

“I’m fleeing, I’m fleeing…”

 

“Sooo…”

Knock Out vented, rubbing his helm as he watched the Vehicons work. “Yes, Fixit?”

“How exactly did the Nemesis get damaged this time?”

He shot her an odd glance. “The Autobots, how else-? Oh, right, you weren’t here...oh frag.”

“Ugh, Autobots…” Fixit complained, watching KO carefully as he looked like he was remembering something singularly unpleasant. “…so is there anything else I missed?” she asked delicately, judging his reactions cautiously.

“…um, the Autobots have the Star Saber now,” the doctor offered, looking like he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to rant furiously or run away. 

“…yeah, okay, not good,” Fixit agreed despite not having a clue what that was. She made a mental note to ask Soundwave later- ooo, wait, no, that’s right she was currently annoyed with him. Stupid fragger, randomly ambushing her around the Nemesis to play with her wings…not to mention he usually did it in public places where anyone could walk up and see her melting into a shivering pile of strutless metal at his pedes! Oh, he would pay for this…

“Y-yeah, not so great, but…um…”

Fixit refocused on the real world to see Knock Out biting his lip, clearly uncomfortable. “KO, what’s wrong?”

He winced, but at the same time looked like he wanted to rip something apart. “…do you remember MECH?”

She frowned at him. “The bastards who hurt…hurt B-Breakdown?”

KO’s engine growled as he hesitated, clearly not sure how to tell her something. And then, apparently, he decided to just blurt it out.

“MECH’s leader, Cylas, integrated himself with Breakdown’s body and used it for himself. He’s currently in the locked back room, and I run experiments and dissect him when I have time.”

Fixit stared at Knock Out, her face perfectly blank and wings still as he watched her closely.

“…Fixit? You still with me?”

“…”

“Fixit?”

“…may I have the rest of the cycle off, sir?” she inquired politely, the picture of calm.

Naturally, KO was alarmed by this reaction, but knew better than to deny her request. “…take the next one off too. But after that, I expect you to get back to work- there’s still a huge backlog left from your absence.”

“Of course, sir.” Fixit inclined her helm politely, turned on her heel, and vanished into the Nemesis. Knock Out watched her go worriedly.

 

Fixit calmly walked into Soundwave’s quarters. It was one of his few breaks from decoding the archives, and he was recharging on his berth, his visor on the table closest to him. Lazerbeak and Ravage were both on-duty, covering for his absence.

Soundwave, ever-aware creeper that he was, onlined as she walked over to him. He started to sit up, only to be pushed back down and lain on by a faintly shaking Eradicon.

“Fixit?” he asked softly, wrapping his arms around her. He kept his servos away from her wings, knowing this was not the time, no matter how tempting they might be.

“…KO just told me about C-Cylas,” Fixit whispered, burying her helm in his chest as her shaking increased. 

Soundwave tightened his grip on her, rumbling his engine reassuringly.

“…please just hold me?” she pleaded faintly, clinging to him desperately.

“Always,” he promised, stroking her back and gently pressing his lips to the top of her helm. “Always.”

 

Fixit stared thoughtfully at Soundwave’s face as he recharged, her chin propped on his chest. _He’s really hot…_

_…and oh sweet Primus what am I thinking!? I mean, I know I’ve been having more thoughts like that lately- when Creamer kept molesting my wings, for example- but am I actually attracted to Soundwave!?_

_…okay, yeah, I am…frag. Frag frag frag frag frag! Why, why does he have to be all awesome and hot and caring and gentle with an awesome and well-hidden sense of humor and, and, and…fuck. I’ve really fallen hard, haven’t I? This is bad…I mean, Soundwave is so…Soundwave…and I’m just me! I’m just a crazy, hyper, messed up bitch who’s good at fixing stuff and conning people! There’s no possible way he could ever like me back!_

_…right?_

She vented softly, still watching him. Slowly, hesitantly, she lifted a servo to carefully, lightly trace over his features. She jerked her servo away when he shifted, but all he did was vent gently in contentment.

_…well, even if he doesn’t like me in a romantic sense, he definitely still cares about and trusts me. He lets me see his face, run off with and threaten his symbionts (stupid toaster-in-the-form-of-a-cat-that-likes-to-try-and-trip-me-up)…and he actually recharges in my presence. I’m fraggin’ layin’ on him, and I touched his face, and he still won’t wake up! That’s just…Soundwave trusts me enough to let me lay on him whilst he’s fraggin’ recharging! The Decepticon spymaster! Trusts me! When the frag did this happen!?_

Fixit continued lightly tracing his face, guiltily enjoying the way he’d unconsciously lean into some of her caresses.

_Wow…I almost feel bad about pulling the prank now…but he’s so totally had it coming for forever. It’s not that severe a prank anyway, even if he’s still probably going to murder me for daring to prank him in the first place….but at this point, I don’t even care. He so deserves it- especially since he won’t stop molesting my wings in public places where anyone could see! Bastard!_

She carefully slipped out of Soundwave’s embrace, making sure she didn’t wake him. She stood by the side of his berth, watching him recharge with a tender expression. Then she grinned evilly, reveling in her ability to do so. KO so totally ruled for giving her a face!

Now, time to prank Soundwave!

 

Soundwave onlined to find his Eradicon gone. Checking his internal chronometer, he realized that she had to go back to work. He frowned mentally, disappointed he didn’t get more time with her, but could hardly resent her for doing her duty. The Decepticons came first, after all. But still…

He vented heavily, swinging his legs around to sit up…and froze as something jingled.

 

“KO, you know I love you, right?”

Knock Out rolled his optics. “Yes Fixit, you’ve mentioned that several times in the past breem. What did you do now?”

“What makes you think I did anything?”

“The only time you start telling everyone how much you love them is if you pulled a prank you expect massive retribution for. What did you do?”

Fixit shifted guiltily. “…um…”

Knock Out crossed his arms and turned to glare at his Apprentice. Ravage just watched in mild amusement from his new favorite pile.

“…let’s just say that if I end up getting dragged off to die by an irate TIC, I probably deserve it?”

KO and Ravage gaped at her in shock. “…Fixit?” the red doctor asked faintly.

“…yes?”

He started rubbing his helm. “…please tell me you didn’t prank Soundwave.”

“…I didn’t prank Soundwave?”

Knock Out groaned, covering his face with his servos and shaking his helm. “…I am so not covering for you.”

“That’s fine, I…didn’t exactly expect to survive it anyways.”

Ravage just continued to gape.

 

Soundwave jingled through the halls, stalking towards medbay purposefully. The doors slid open, the occupants looking up.

“What is it, Soundwave?” Megatron asked, turning away from his conversation with Knock Out and Dreadwing.

The TIC shook his helm briefly, causing the bell to jingle ominously and everyone to stare at him, before prowling towards the Eradicon attempting to become one with her desk.

He stopped right in front of her, looming, as she glanced up at him guiltily. 

“Um…hi?” she asked sheepishly.

He crossed his arms and glared at her, ignoring Knock Out’s half-horrified, half-amused strangled laughter behind him.

She winced. “Right, I’ll just…remove that now…”

He glared silently at her as she did so, cringing all the while. When she had removed the bell, he plucked it from her servos and subspaced it. Then he grabbed her by the back of her neck, and started firmly dragging her towards the door.

The other officers just stared as the TIC hauled the Eradicon who had dared to prank him out of medbay.

“…Knock Out?” Dreadwing asked, still staring at the doors along with his Lord.

“…yes?” he asked faintly, face in his servos.

“…is your Apprentice suicidal?”

“…before I would’ve said no, but now…”

“Well,” Megatron finally said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Soundwave successfully pranked before. I rather doubt you’ll be getting your Apprentice back, doctor.”

Knock Out just groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to 'Shadow fang the black wolf' (from FFnet) for the idea for the prank! I’ve been wanting to write it for forever and finally managed to work it in!


	31. LIGHTSABERS

_“I will not send you in without any aid or gifts whatsoever, youngling.”_

_“Well, that’s a relief.”_

 

Fixit winced as Soundwave dragged her into his quarters. Once inside, he locked the door and pointed to the berth. “Sit,” he ordered sternly.

She sat.

He glowered at her for a long time, causing her to fidget uncomfortably and wring her servos. Finally, she couldn’t take the silence anymore. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not because you deserved it!”

“…and why, exactly, did I deserve it?” Soundwave inquired dangerously, crossing his arms.

“Because you’re an aft!” she yelled suddenly, standing up to pace. “You stalked me constantly for years- you still do, but I don’t mind anymore- and you keep molesting me all over the ship! Where anyone could see!”

“I seem to recall you enjoyed it.”

“I HATE IT!” she screamed, causing him to flinch.

“What-?!”

“I hate it! I hate being made fun of, being made into a show for others to enjoy at my expense, as they laugh at me, unable to keep myself from being used! I hate having wings, I hate them, I can’t control my reactions when they’re touched, I hate it! I hate it so much!” she ranted, sobbing furiously at a horrified Soundwave. “I hate it-!”

Fixit collapsed to her knees, covering her face with one servo and wrapping her other arm around herself as she wept, shaking like a leaf. Soundwave immediately dropped to kneel beside her, pulling his visor off and tossing it aside. He reached out to draw her into his arms, but she flinched away. He stopped and let his arms drop slowly, realizing that he had really messed up.

“Fixit,” he pleaded. She shook her helm, scooting away from him. It was hard, but he let her move away, knowing that if he tried to follow her she’d feel trapped. “Fixit, look at me. Please. Please, Fixit.”

She whimpered, but reluctantly glanced up at him from where she was huddled against the wall.

“I’m so sorry, Fixit. I didn’t know, I had no idea you felt that way. If I had known, I would never have done that to you, I swear. I would never hurt you on purpose.” He stared into her beautiful scarlet optics, praying she would see his sincerity. He couldn’t lose her.

Fixit studied him carefully from her balled-up position, still shaking. “Y-you…you p-promise you d-didn’t k-know?”

“I promise, Fixit. I am so sorry.”

She stared at him a while longer, then slowly started inching across the floor towards him. He stayed very still, appearing as non-threatening as he could whilst not moving a millimeter. Eventually, he was rewarded by Fixit curling into him, hesitantly tugging his arms around her shaking form. He gripped her as tight as he dared, burying his face into the top of her helm as it rested against his chest.

“Y-you’re an a-aft,” Fixit informed him as she burrowed into him.

“No arguments there,” he muttered, truly shaken by just how much his teasing had affected his Eradicon. From now on, if he had anymore brilliant ideas, he’d check with Fixit first to make sure she was okay with it. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her again.

 

Fixit scowled at the datapad. She’d get this puzzle if it was the last thing she did!

Soundwave chuckled softly behind her. She craned her helm back to give him a questioning look from where she was leaning against his legs.

“…get this puzzle if it’s the last thing I do!” he played back at her.

Fixit huffed at him and turned back to her puzzles, embarrassed. “Shut up. I can’t help speaking some of my mental declarations out loud.”

He reached down and brushed his servo over her helm affectionately before returning to decoding the Iacon archives again. After their fight and Fixit’s near-breakdown earlier, neither had wanted to be separated, but Soundwave had to go back to work. So, Fixit just decided to come with him. Hey, it was quiet and they got alone time. Sure, the TIC was working, but it was Soundwave. Fixit would’ve thought he was an imposter if he wasn’t working most/all of the time. Amusingly enough, Soundwave had glowered and then proceeded to sulk for a good quarter cycle when she voiced he opinion. Well, Soundwave would say he was just working, but he had definitely been sulking. Fixit thought it was kind of cute, actually. (She decided not to mention this to him- sure, the sulking was cute, but she much preferred the non-sulking Soundwave. He would let her cuddle against his legs, after all.)

Sadly, their peace was interrupted by Knock Out comming Fixit and telling her to get down to medbay, now. If she was still online, that was. If she wasn’t, he’d start in five breems and just assume he was down an Apprentice. 

Fixit whined, turning to hug Soundwave’s leg and burrowing her helm into his hip. She didn’t want to leave!

He vented heavily, rubbing her helm affectionately before reluctantly pushing her away. She huffed unhappily, but pulled away and stood up. Fixit started to turn to leave, but was delayed by Soundwave grabbing her chin and turning her helm to face him. He rested his chevron against her forehelm, letting his servo slip down to gently cup her neck. She vented contentedly, offlining her optics and leaning into him slightly. But all too soon, he was pulling away and she had to leave, giving his servo a brief squeeze on the way out.

 

Fixit poked at the ancient arm on the table.

“Fixit!” Knock Out exclaimed in exasperation.

She looked up. “What?”

“Stop poking it and help me!”

“But isn’t he already ready?”

Knock Out growled, recognizing the truth in her words. “Then just bring the fraggin’ thing over here!”

“Sir!” she saluted with the arm, already making her way over.

Knock Out snarled and snatched the arm from her as Lord Megatron chuckled in amusement at her antics.

“Enough,” he ordered, sobering. “Get on with the surgery.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the two medical personnel said in unison, getting to work.

 

Fixit stared at Lord Megatron’s sword, barely paying any attention to his boasting about defeating Optimus Prime. Such was her fascination that she almost didn’t notice when he addressed her.

“Is there any particular reason you’re staring at my sword, Fixit?” he inquired, raising a brow.

“I…did Prime have a similar sword, sir?” she asked, still staring at the Dark Star Saber.

“…yes,” he answered slowly, not sure where she was going with this. Soundwave, Knock Out and Dreadwing were all equally as puzzled.

“His sword glowed too?” she breathed, wings twitching slightly in excitement.

“…yes, although his glowed blue…”

“…so cool…” she whispered, causing him to chuckle slightly at her obvious awe.

Knock Out groaned abruptly as he realized what she was thinking, causing the rest of the command staff to glance at him curiously. “Really, Fixit?”

“…lightsabers, KO…they had a fraggin’ battle with fraggin’ Lightsabers!!! That is the most awesome epic thing in the history of awesomeness!” she squealed in delight and bounced slightly on her pedes, clearly in nerd heaven. “Lightsabers!”

KO facepalmed. “Just…ignore the fanboy over there, okay? He’ll go back to normal eventually…I hope…”

Megatron and Dreadwing just stared for a moment before deciding to take Knock Out’s advice. Soundwave, being more familiar with his Eradicon’s quirks, had already returned to decoding the archives…although his shoulders were shaking slightly in amusement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because everyone takes one look at the Star Saber(s) and goes “OMG LIGHTSABER!!!”


	32. Fixit Strikes Again (Indirectly)

_“…what does ‘Popcorn’ approving have to do with anything?”_

_“It has everything to do with it.”_

 

Fixit and Lazerbeak were cackling in a corner of the medbay. Ravage was pretending he didn’t know either of them.

Knock Out rolled his optics as he walked in. “Fixit!”

She looked up. “Yes?”

“I’m going after one of the relics and wanted to take your little…surprise along.”

The other three occupants of medbay stared at him incredulously.

“KO, you know it’s not ready…right?” Fixit asked delicately.

He resisted the urge to roll his optics again. “Yes Fixit, I know. But I was thinking an actual field test would help you identify some of the issues you still need to work out.”

“Oh.” She pondered this. “That’s actually a good idea.”

“No need to sound so surprised…”

“Okay, you can take it! Have fun messing with random Autobots!”

 

Knock Out barely resisted the urge to cackle manically. Fixit was such a bad influence…

“And before I leave you, Autoscum, here’s a present from my Apprentice! Have fun!”

He sent off a shot from Fixit’s unofficially-dubbed ‘Prank Cannon’ before hightailing it out of there.

 

“By the Allspark, what happened to you?” Ratchet exclaimed, sounding like he was desperately trying not to laugh as Arcee and Bumblebee waddled through the groundbridge. Jack and Rafe didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned. Miko just broke down into hysterics.

“Knock Out,” the femme bit out, pulling futilely at the curly orange wig. “He said it was a present from his Apprentice.”

Ratchet frowned. “Knock Out has an Apprentice? Since when?”

“…his name is Fixit,” Optimus spoke up, frowning thoughtfully. Although that quickly changed to a badly-hidden smile as he turned to look at his clowns- sorry, soldiers. “I think that perhaps Arcee and Bumblebee require some aid, old friend.”

The medic snorted. “Don’t think you’re getting out of it that easy, Optimus. Talk,” he said as he moved to help the two rainbow-colored clowns.

“Fixit is…unusual for a Decepticon. During my time as Orion Pax, he befriended me through the liberal use of pranks,” Optimus admitted, smiling slightly. “I do not believe I shall ever forget the sight of Knock Out dressed up like a human ballerina.”

That got laughs from everyone.

“This Fixit guy sounds like he’s pretty cool for a Con,” Miko chirped from Bulkhead’s shoulder.

“He was certainly…different. The first time I met him, he had just finished a two-joor long scolding, complete with many expletives. Fixit was infamous for hunting down wayward patients that tried to avoid medbay.” Optimus chuckled. “It was rather amusing watching everyone flee for their lives when Fixit was in full-on medic mode.”

“Sounds kinda like Ratchet and the Twins, only on a larger scale,” Bulkhead commented, gaining a scowl from said doctor.

“Indeed. Although they would also flee for their lives when Fixit began cackling madly to himself, as that was usually a sign of a prank being plotted.”

“He…doesn’t really sound a lot like a Con,” Rafe said, tugging on one of Bumblebee’s oversized floppy shoes.

“…I’m not entirely sure he was, actually,” Optimus confessed, frowning.

“What!?” came the collective question.

Optimus hesitated. “Fixit…told me about his past. And while he may have been lying about some of it…there are some things that just cannot be faked. His reactions- his trauma- were real. However…”

“Trauma?” Miko asked. “What, ‘cause he has to look at Megatron’s ugly mug every day?”

“…no, Miko. Fixit told me he had originally been a Neutral, but then his colony was destroyed by Autobots. He and several other survivors were then taken and experimented on…by Ratchet. And according to him, he was the only survivor.”

“Ridiculous,” Ratchet scoffed. “Obviously he was lying.”

“Except he looked like someone I knew in that moment. It was not until I regained my memories that I knew who,” Optimus said gravely.

“Who was it?” Rafe questioned.

The Prime vented heavily. “He looked like Bluestreak, when he is remembering Praxus.”

“Who’s Bluestreak? And Praxus?” Miko asked, kicking her legs back and forth.

“Praxus was a neutral city,” Ratchet said quietly, staring at his Prime. “The Decepticons completely wiped it out in under a cycle. Bluestreak was the only survivor. Optimus…are you sure?”

“…it is possible Fixit is a true Decepticon, but…there is no possible way to fake such massive trauma. I fear I was not the only one Megatron was lying to…but simply rather the only one to realize it.”

 

“Did it work!? Did it work!? Did it wor-!”

“Fixit!” Knock Out snapped. “Shut up and let me speak!”

She clapped a servo over her mouth, staring at him with hopeful optics and perked wings.

The red doctor grinned. “It worked beautifully.”

Fixit let out a whoop of triumph, punching the air. Take that, Autobots! In your faces! 

Served them right for stealing Ryan…

 

Fixit fidgeted uncomfortably as she approached Soundwave. He turned his helm towards her, momentarily pausing in his work. 

“This is the next set of coordinates I decoded,” she muttered quietly. “And…can I talk to you afterwards? In private?”

He was clearly curious, but inclined his helm easily enough. He told her to wait for him in his quarters before heading off to report to Megatron.

 

Soundwave walked into his quarters, locking the door behind him as he watched his Eradicon curiously. She was squirming slightly as she sat on his berth, clearly nervous about something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, moving over to her and depositing his visor on the table along the way. He sat down beside her on the berth, wrapping his arm around her waist. She stiffened slightly, but made no move to push him away, so he let it go for now.

“I…I owe you an apology,” Fixit confessed, wringing her servos. He caught them in his free servo, keeping them still.

“For what?” he frowned. 

“For yelling at you. No, don’t interrupt, just let me talk please?”

He scowled slightly, but nodded in agreement. She flashed him a quick thankful smile, though it disappeared rapidly.

“I…was not being entirely fair. I mean, you still totally deserved the prank- you’ve had that coming a long time. But…when you were ambushing me around the Nemesis, I didn’t…I mean, I never once told you to stop or indicated that I didn’t like it in anyway. That…that’s just a bad habit of mine, unfortunately, but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault for continuing when I haven’t given you any reason to stop. And, and it’s not that I don’t like you playing with my wings, I do,” she rushed, ducking her helm in embarrassment. “I just…I don’t like being ambushed like that in public places. It’s…it’s one of my major triggers, it always has been and always will be, but you didn’t know that and it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, but I was just so…so stressed, and you know my mental state, and how bad I apparently am at dealing with residual trauma, and-”

Soundwave laid his servo over her mouth, wishing he dared to use his mouth to shut her up instead. “I understand, Fixit. It’s okay.”

“…but I yelled at you,” she said in a very small voice, shrinking in on herself. She glanced up at him guiltily, looking very meek and subdued as she clung to his servo almost desperately.

Well frag, there went all his resolve. Soundwave leaned forward, cupped her cheek, and brushed his lips over Fixit’s softly. Her vents hitched as he pulled back and she stared at him in shock, frozen.

“Fixit?” he asked quietly, rubbing his thumb along the arch of her face. “Is this alright?”

She squeaked slightly, obviously still in shock. He couldn’t hold back a low chuckle, causing Fixit to flush.

“Soundwave to Fixit,” he teased. “Anyone in there?”

She smacked him slightly, without thinking. And then she squeaked once more, obviously startled by her own actions. He chuckled again.

Fixit’s optics flickered to his, staring at him intensely. “…w-why?”

He raised a brow. “Why did I kiss you?”

She nodded, trying and failing to ignore the servo still caressing her face.

“…because I love you, Fixit,” he said softly, watching her mouth drop open in shock.

She stammered, clearly not knowing what to say. “I…”

“Fixit,” he interrupted, catching her attention again. “You don’t have to say it back. I can, and will, wait as long as you need. I-”

“I love you too,” she whispered, shuttering her optics and leaning into his servo tenatively. She opened them and looked back at his astonished, happy face. “I…I do, but I’m…I can’t…”

Soundwave grinned, pulling his Eradicon into his lap and causing her to yelp as he enveloped her in his arms. “What part of ‘I can and will wait’ did you not understand? It’s alright, Fixit, we can go as slow as you need. I promise.”

She stared at him with wide optics, but hesitantly smiled back. “I-It’s okay,” she whispered, suddenly shy.

His grin faded slightly as he tried to figure out what she was talking about…and then it dawned on him. He beamed as he leaned forward and captured her lips in a proper, firm kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that fluff came out of nowhere. Slaggit Fixit, Soundwave…stop making me revise the plot!  
> And a lot of people have been wondering about the Autobots and when they’ll meet Fixit…good question and keep wondering! But I decided to give you a look into how Optimus sees Fixit. Aren’t I nice?


	33. Continue the Con

_“You will wake up where I feel you can do the most good, youngling.”_

 

Fixit leaned against the wall, lost in thought as Soundwave decoded the last coordinates from the Iacon archives. All the officers were gathered round, which was why Fixit was here. She was technically considered an officer, seeing as she was Knock Out’s Apprentice and the only other trained medic on the ship. Technically. In reality, she was somewhere between the officers and the grunts in authority.

…and she was distracting herself again. Great. _I guess I really don’t want to dwell on the fact that I’m officially dating Soundwave now…oh frag I’m dating Soundwave! Frag frag frag frag frag! That’s just- I- it- gah!_

_Okay, stop, calm…sheesh, now I remember why I was avoiding thinking about it. But…yeah. Oi vey…I mean, I’m definitely happy, just…I don’t have such a great relationship track record. And I don’t- I don’t want- I want this thing with Soundwave to last! I- I was telling the truth when I said I loved him, I just…I’m scared. I’m scared that it won’t work out, that I’ll lose him, and if I lose him then I’ll lose Lazerbeak and Ravage too, and then all I’ll have left will be Knock Out, and-! And-! Okay no, just stop! Enough!_

_I-I’m not g-going to lose them. I-I’m not. He- He promised. They promised. They promised they would never l-leave me, never abandon me. I-I have to believe them. I have to. It’ll be okay…it has to be. It has to be._

_Now if only I could make myself believe that…_

 

Fixit frowned thoughtfully as Soundwave dragged the Autobot in, dumping him on the table. Fixer was going nuts, yelling at her to lielielieLIE! She didn’t know why Fixer wanted her to pull a con…or continue it. Actually…as far as she knew, Ryan- aka Optimus Prime- had never actually realized Fixit was conning him, regardless of her fondness for him. Which meant…that they might not know for sure she was a willing Decepticon…if Ryan even talked about her at all. Hmm…meh. Whatever. It couldn’t hurt to keep up the con. At the very least, it would confuse them more. Now, how to get KO to cooperate…

 

“…why?” Knock Out asked cautiously, staring at his Apprentice warily.

She vented in exasperation. “Just in case, KO. Please. I already approved it with Soundwave.”

He frowned at her a couple of moments longer, but finally gave in. “Fine, but you comm me the nano-click there’s any issues. Got it?”

“Sir yes sir, mister motherhen sir!”

“Fixit!”

 

“Now then, time to get that relic out of you…” Knock Out advanced on the alarmed Smokescreen, revving his saw threateningly…only to be interrupted by a loud crash. They both jumped, whipping their helms to stare in the direction of the crash. A couple of klicks later, the sound of mad cackling drifted over to them. Smokescreen stared in confusion as Knock Out facepalmed, putting his saw away.

“Fixit!” he yelled in only partially-faked exasperation. “What the frag did you do this time!?”

“…nothing?” came the sheepish reply.

The red doctor buried his face in his servos, attempting to ignore Smokescreen’s incredulous and confused face. “…Fixit?”

“Yep?”

“Get out here.”

“…do I have to?”

Knock Out groaned, dragging his servos down his face. “Fixit…”

“…okay fine, just a klick…”

More clanging and crashes came from the other room. Knock Out winced at every one, vainly trying to ignore the gaping Autobot behind him. Finally, the door opened and a weird-looking Eradicon Smokescreen assumed was Fixit tripped through, landing on his front with a box over his helm.

Knock Out rubbed his helm as he sat up, swaying from side-to-side, the box mirroring his motions. “…ow…why’s everything so dark suddenly?”

“…there’s a box on your helm, Fixit,” KO bit out through gritted denta. 

“…oh. So there is.” He pulled it off, blinking his bright scarlet optics at the sudden increase in light. Wait, the Eradicon had a face?! What the frag!? “Huh. Hey KO, what’dja need?”

He waved his servo at him, heading towards the medbay doors. “Just…watch the prisoner for a moment while I go get something.”

“Prison- we have a prisoner?” he asked, leaping to his pedes and looking around. He froze as his optics met Smokescreen’s dumbfounded ones, and then practically flew across the room to cling to KO’s servo before he left.

“Fixit-!”

“You’re leaving me alone with an Autobot?!” he hissed in panic, shaking slightly. Smokescreen could barely hear him, staring as the weird bot glanced over at him in panic and…fear?

“Ravage is right there,” Knock Out deadpanned, pointing at the Deployer.

“I reiterate…you’re leaving me alone with an Autobot and Ravage!?” the Apprentice jittered again, ignoring the growl from the Deployer curled up on a pile of scrap.

Knock Out rolled his optics. “You’ll be fine, it’s only for a couple of klicks. Grow up.”

Fixit whined as the doctor pushed him away and strode out. He stared forlornly at the closed doors for a klick before whirling to point at the confused Smokescreen. 

“I’m watching you, Autobot,” he spat shakily, stalking over to the desk furthest from the rookie. The Eradicon sat down on a...blue and purple stool?...making sure he had an unblocked view of Smokescreen. He crossed his arms and glared at him fearfully.

Smokescreen just stared in utter confusion. 

.

.

.

“Um…” Finally, he opened his mouth to ask the weird- bot? Drone?- a question, but was interrupted by Knock Out walking back in. Fixit shot to his pedes instantly, staring pleadingly at the doctor. 

He vented heavily. “Yes Fixit, you can go. I’ve got…this,” he trailed off as his Apprentice shot past him, all too eager to escape. Ravage grumbled as he ran after the Eradicon, his tail flicking in annoyance.

Knock Out shuttered his optics, confused, before turning to glare at Smokescreen. “If you did anything to him…” he threatened. 

“Hey, I didn’t even say anything!” the rookie protested, bewildered by the doctor’s sudden protectiveness. “And why the frag would you care!? You’re a Decepticon!”

Knock Out smirked as he stalked towards Smokescreen. “Well…Fixit is much more useful if he believes he’s working for us willingly. We can’t have you righteous Autobots ruining that illusion...after all, the more Soundwave has to erase from his memory, the more likely it is that he’ll notice the deception. And he’s just too useful to give up so easily…”

Smokescreen was horrified and furious. “You’re sick!”

“And you hold something we need. After that, there’s really no use for you…unlike Fixit.” Knock Out grinned, strapping the phase shifter to his wrist. “Let’s end your usefulness, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the con is continued, with KO’s help. And yeah, Smokescreen is really hard for me to write for some reason…hence why he really didn’t say anything. Hopefully I’ll get a better grasp on his character for future chapters…


	34. Starscream Returns...To People who want to Kill Him (Idiot)

_“…right, that’s it, I don’t care if your body’s technically not ready yet, you’re going.”_

_“Yeeesssss…I have successfully annoyed a god into getting rid of me. My plan for world domination is now half complete.”_

_“Wait, what?”_

 

Fixit leaned her helm back against the wall as Lord Megatron headed into medbay, followed by Dreadwing, to question the Autobot on what, exactly, the relic was. Soundwave paused by Fixit, reaching up to quickly brush the back of his fingers over her cheek. She gave him a wan smile.

“I’m fine, Wave,” she said quietly. “It went perfectly. I just...have never been that fond of conning people. But Fixer insists this is necessary, and she’s never been wrong before.” She vented heavily, pushing herself away from the wall and stretching out to give his servo a quick squeeze. “I’ll be on the bridge, supervising the Roombas. See you later.”

Soundwave watched in slight worry as his Eradicon meandered down the hall towards the bridge. He vented silently, and turned to follow his Lord.

 

Fixit cursed, tracking the progress of the Autobot from the bridge. “Quadrant four, section three. I think he’s heading for the loading dock there, sir,” she reported to Megatron over the comm, although all the officers were listening to the same channel.

They started to converge on the Autobot’s signal, Megatron reaching him first…and then the Autobot’s signal went over the edge. Fixit hissed at the falling signal, conflicted. On one hand, if the Autobot escaped, then the con would be furthered. On the other hand, the Autobot would escape. Fixit was not very fond of the Autobots, and never had been. Even back when she was still human. They had always been just a little too…goody-two shoes for her. Although she did like Ratchet, Wheeljack, the Twins, Prowl and Jazz. 

Ratchet was a grumpy fragger, which amused her to no end. He was also her favorite Autobot. 

Wheeljack…the mech blew himself up on a near-weekly basis. And explosions were awesome. ‘Nuff said. 

As a fellow prankster, she couldn’t help but like the Twins, even if she wasn’t as fond of them individually.

Jazz she liked because he was, well…Jazz. He…had actually been her (only) role model growing up, and her entire previous fighting style had been based off of his. (Although she now had wings and a different center of gravity, which made using her previous style difficult. But she was working on it.)

Prowl…was the odd one out, among the few ‘Bots she liked. He wasn’t friendly or silly or grumpy or explosion-prone…he was just Prowl. She hadn’t actually liked him until much later, when Popcorn became such a big influence in her life. Prowl reminded her of Popcorn when he was on duty (off-duty was a different story entirely). But it wasn’t until after Popcorn’s death that she really started liking Prowl. She would re-watch all the episodes she could find with Prowl over and over again…because then she could almost pretend that the cop was sitting right there with her, criticizing the cartoon and complaining that Prowl wasn’t similar to him in any way, shape or form. And then she’d throw popcorn at him, and he’d throw it back, and it’d escalate into an all-out war. Ah, good times…

Fixit was pulled back to the real world by the sound of KO whining at her to come and get him out of the bulkhead he was trapped in…wait, what? Trapped _in?_

 

Fixit grimaced, wanting to go help Knock Out…but Lord Megatron had specifically ordered her not to help him until he said so. Hence, she was stuck on the bridge as Starscream snuck in…wait, what!?

“Starscream!?” she yelped, spinning to face the Seeker. He froze as all attention was suddenly on him.

“Ah, Fixit…I see you- have a face?! What the frag!?” he gaped at her, momentarily forgetting about their audience.

She scowled at him, aiming her gun at him. “Give me one good reason not to shoot you here and now,” she snarled, wings quivering in fury. All the other Vehicons on the bridge followed her lead, powering up their weapons and pointing them at the former SIC.

“And it had better be a very good reason,” Megatron rumbled ominously as he also aimed his cannon at the Seeker, Dreadwing and Soundwave coming in behind him. Soundwave was giving Starscream a glare almost as lethal as Megatron’s cannon, causing the Seeker to cringe slightly.

“Ah-heh…” Starscream chuckled nervously, warily eyeing all the weapons pointed at him. “Would this suffice as a peace offering?”

Fixit shuttered her optics in shock as the Seeker produced all four Omega Keys.

_Well, frag. I’m going to have to deal with him again, aren’t I?_

 

Fixit growled slightly as she leaned against the medbay wall, watching as Knock Out hooked up Lord Megatron and Creamer to a cortical psychic patch. Lazerbeak nuzzled into her neck and Ravage leaned against her legs from where he was sitting on her pedes. Soundwave was standing right next to and slightly in front of her. Not enough to obscure her from view, but enough to indicate to the others that he was protecting her. Which had earned a few weird looks, but no one had really dared comment. It was Soundwave, after all.

They watched as Starscream’s memories began to play out on the screen in front of them. Fixit clapped a servo over her mouth, desperately trying not to break out into laughter as she watched Starscream’s victory dance. She lost the fight as Creamer realized they had all seen that, collapsing into helpless giggles and sliding down to sit against the wall. Knock Out snickered slightly at her reaction, and Dreadwing scowled faintly. Soundwave glanced at her over his shoulder, barely moving his helm, but she could read him well enough by now to know that he was amused by her reaction as well.

 

Starscream harrumphed, faceplates heating in embarrassment. “Shut up, Fixit,” he muttered irritably, just knowing the Eradicon was laughing at him.

“You are not in command of my soldiers, Starscream. And I would advise staying away from Fixit,” Megatron warned the Seeker before turning his attention back to his task.

 

Fixit’s giggles quieted as they proceeded to watch Starscream’s many (failed) assassination attempts on their Lord. Although she had to snicker when he advised Starscream to stop thinking out loud. It was in vain, though, as Creamer remarked on his stylish transformation…only to realize he said that out loud. 

Fixit laughed at that as she stood back up, stepping forward slightly to gain a better view of the screen. Coincidentally, this also put her right behind and just to the left of Soundwave, hiding most of her from view of the other occupants of medbay. She gave it a few more memories, just to be sure they weren’t paying any attention to her anymore (and snickering quietly at Creamer’s attempts to work his way back into Lord Megatron’s good graces) before discreetly slipping her servo into Soundwave’s. He tensed slightly, but slowly relaxed once he realized Dreadwing and Knock Out weren’t paying any attention to them. He squeezed back softly just as Megatron began replaying the memory of her capture. 

Fixit tensed as she saw herself lying there on the table, Starscream staring thoughtfully at her. She relaxed slightly when it became clear that her memory-self was stirring, meaning no one else would see her spark.

She attempted to pull her servo out of Soundwave’s (since Knock Out and Dreadwing were splitting their attention between the screen and her), but he just tightened his grip, refusing to let go. After a few half-hearted tugs, she gave up, and simply gazed at the screen blankly, making sure not to react to anything. 

Soundwave nearly crushed her servo when Starscream started caressing her wings, the memory’s words mostly drowned out by Starscream sucking up to Megatron again. Everyone stared in stunned silence when she abruptly punched memory-Creamer out, though. They all watched her escape till the memory cut off, Creamer’s view of her obscured by rocks.

There was silence a moment longer, before Megatron snorted. “Somehow, I think Fixit found that punch very satisfying.”

Starscream started whining as Fixit laughed aloud, wings perking up. “Oh, so satisfying,” she commented, causing Knock Out to laugh and Dreadwing to crack a reluctant smirk. Soundwave rumbled quietly in amusement, Fixit not-so-much hearing it as feeling it through their connected servos.

Their attention turned back to the screen as Megatron began replaying Knock Out and Starscream plotting together. Fixit facepalmed as KO began to panic. Dreadwing stopped him from unplugging Megatron, Fixit just shaking her helm in exasperation as the doctor stammered out an excuse.

“Idiot,” she muttered, absentmindedly rubbing her thumb over Soundwave’s servo as she lightly leaned against his arm, careful to do it in such a way that KO and Dreadwing wouldn’t notice. He glanced at her, startled and pleased at her initiating contact without a major emotional upheaval beforehand, but she was more focused on the screen as Skyquake’s death and resurrection played out. She frowned as she watched Dreadwing leave, ignoring Megatron’s reprimand to both KO and Creamer. 

Fixit wasn’t that fond of Dreadwing, but she understood his need to be alone. She just hoped he wouldn’t do anything stupid- she’d take him over Starscream any day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Starscream has returned…idiot. Yes, it’s totally a good idea to return to people who all want to kill you. Moron.


	35. Dreadwing Makes a Decision

_“Youngling…what are you doing?”_

_“…nothing. *whistles innocently*”_

 

Fixit scowled at the fraggin’ Roombas as she left to report to Soundwave. He had dragged her off to rehaul the security once again, seeing as Starscream had gotten in undetected (also sparing her having to help Knock Out give the Seeker a full medical examination. Thank Primus…).

She passed by Dreadwing, who gave her an odd look as she muttered to herself. She stuck her glossa out at him, causing him to frown thoughtfully as she skipped down the hall. He watched her go, before turning back to…whatever he had been doing.

Fixit paused, turning to look back at him. Then she ran after him. “Sir? Dreadwing, sir!”

He stopped, turning to look at her. “…yes?”

She came to a halt in front of him, staring intently into his optics. He frowned at her close scrutiny, opening his mouth to tell her off-

“You’re planning on doing something stupid, aren’t you?” Fixit said quietly, her face suddenly seeming older, tired and sad.

Dreadwing shuttered his optics in shock. “What…it is none of your business-”

“It is if it means we’re going to lose you,” she said softly, tilting her helm slightly, optics knowing and understanding as she watched him flounder for a response. 

“It is none of your business,” he snapped, turning away.

“…you’re going to avenge your twin.”

He stiffened, whipping around threateningly. “You-!”

“Good luck.”

Dreadwing froze in shock. Fixit just smiled sadly at him, and for some reason…Dreadwing knew she understood. She understood the pain of losing your twin, and the drive- no, the need to avenge them. But how…?

The Eradicon chuckled bitterly when he asked. “…let’s just say you’re not the only one who’s lost a twin.”

He stared at her, unsure of how to react. She huffed out a forced laugh, reaching up to pat his shoulder.

“The only difference between us…is that your twin loved you.” She grinned at him without any humor. “And you love him back. You’re lucky.”

“…what…?”

Fixit snorted. “Never mind, sir. Just ignore me. And good luck avenging your twin…I hope yours is worth it.”

She walked off, leaving Dreadwing staring after her blankly.

 

Fixit walked in, locked the door, slid in between Soundwave and the console he was working on, and latched onto him almost desperately. He started slightly, but wrapped his arms around her tightly.

“Fixit?” he asked quietly, leaning his helm against hers.

She shuttered her optics, shaking slightly. “…just…Dreadwing’s twin loved him…why…why couldn’t mine…?” she whispered, trailing off.

Soundwave vented softly, reaching up to remove his visor. He set it on the console behind Fixit, leaning in to brush his lips over her helm. He gently skimmed kisses over every millimeter of her face, stroking her back tenderly, and finally captured her lips with his. He kept the kiss soft and comforting at first, soothing his distressed Eradicon, reassuring her that he was there and wasn’t going anywhere. Slowly, she relaxed into him, her frame melting against his as she returned the kiss, her servos tentatively beginning to explore his frame.

Gradually, Soundwave began to deepen the kiss, his caresses growing bolder. He abruptly ran his servos over her wings, causing her to gasp. He took advantage of this, diving his glossa into her mouth. Fixit stiffened, but he persisted gently, stroking her wings and caressing her glossa with his, slowly coaxing it into a sensual, deliberate dance.

She moaned softly, her arms around his neck, clinging to him desperately as he systematically removed her ability to think. He pushed her against the console, pinning her between it and his warm, strong body as one of his thighs slipped between hers. His servos ran all over her frame, mapping out her hotspots, what made her whimper and shiver and moan and keen and cling to him desperately. He released his tentacles, curling them around her wings to give tiny electric kisses, swallowing her cries as he devoured her mouth.

Fixit broke away and flung her helm back, panting as her cooling fans worked overtime to try and decrease her temperature. Soundwave simply moved his mouth to her neck, licking and nipping and sucking, making his Eradicon keen in pleasure, her servos raking over his shoulders.

“S-Soundwave,” she gasped, whimpering at his pleased rumble as it vibrated through her frame. He greatly enjoyed hearing his designation from his Eradicon’s lips (especially sounding like that), and promptly set out to do it again-

A small explosion shook the Nemesis, causing their helms to shoot up even as Soundwave crushed Fixit to his chest protectively. Their attention quickly turned to the vid feeds, the TIC freeing one servo to scan through the feeds to find the source. Fixit groaned in frustration and exasperation as they realized one of the Vehicons had accidentally blown itself and several others up again. Soundwave was equally as annoyed. 

“Stupid fraggin’ Roombas-!” she whined, letting her helm fall onto his shoulder as he scowled at the screen. “Why couldn’t they have waited to blow themselves up till KO was free to fix them!? I don’t wanna leave!”

Soundwave hissed in frustration. This was the first time Fixit had relaxed enough to do more than just chaste kissing and hugging, and the fragging drones just had to go and ruin it!

“Fixit?” he said darkly, not missing the way she shivered at the sound of his voice.

“…yeah?” she asked, lifting her helm to look at him.

“Make them suffer,” he bared his denta at the feed, tightening his grip on Fixit’s waist.

She grinned in malicious delight. “Sir yes sir.”

 

The Vehicons internally sobbed in terror as Fixit smiled at them, idly stroking her gun as she watched them clean up the mess. She hummed a cheerful tune, bouncing slightly on her pedes as they slinked around her in fear, occasionally whimpering in terror whenever she spoke up to give them ‘advice.’

 

“Betraying my kind is not the same as accepting yours,” Dreadwing said coldly, refusing Prime’s offer to join the Autobots. He turned to leave, but paused as Prime called out for him to wait.

“What.”

“I realize you will not accept my offer…but I have a request,” Prime explained, ignoring the confused looks of his men.

Dreadwing stared at him with narrowed optics. “…speak.”

“…I would like to know the condition of the Eradicon designated Fixit,” Prime asked, true concern filling his optics. Dreadwing shuttered his optics in mild surprise before giving a bemused chuckle.

“So would I,” he said truthfully, still confused by his last interaction with the mech.

“What do you mean?” Prime asked worriedly, frowning.

Dreadwing shook his helm. “I thought I knew his character…and then he went and proved me totally wrong. He wished me luck in avenging my twin, saying that he ‘hoped mine is worth it.’”

The Autobots traded confused glances as the big blue Seeker frowned at the ground.

“He said…that I was not the only one who had lost a twin,” Dreadwing mused aloud, almost forgetting the Autobots were there. “But that I was lucky, to have a twin worth avenging…that I was lucky to have a twin who loved me.”

The Autobots stiffened in shock, but it was Prime’s reaction that caught the Seeker’s attention. The Autobot leader looked shocked, yes, but also…relieved.

“He wasn’t lying,” Prime muttered to himself. “He was telling me the truth.”

Dreadwing scowled at Prime. “What do you mean, he was telling the truth?”

 

“Nah, I really think sparkles would be crueler…” Fixit argued with Lazerbeak over the comm as she walked down the hall. The little femme was currently assisting his brother in hooking up yet more cameras. Fixit had just finished ‘supervising’ (more like terrifying) the Vehicons, and was headed back to Soundwave to report in.

“Fixit,” Dreadwing called out to her as he strode over. “A word?”

She glanced up at him in surprise, but nodded her helm in agreement. The Eradicon followed him to a more private spot, telling Laze that she had to go. The femme whined, but he needed to help Ravage with the more difficult wiring anyways. They agreed to meet up and plot world domination- I mean, prank plans later. Yeah, prank plans! Totally…

Dreadwing just lifted his brow at her, but lead her into a section that had been damaged. Soundwave had vid feeds here, but no audio feeds yet since it was in the middle of the Nemesis and was lower on the priority list than the outer defenses.

“So, what’s up boss man?” Fixit bounced on her pedes, wings flicking attentively.

The Seeker reached out and grabbed her chin, lifting her face up to stare at her intensely. She shuttered her scarlet optics, confused as to what he was doing. “…um?”

“You’re a femme?” he asked finally, watching her carefully. Her vents hitching in shock and her optics widening was all the answer he needed. He hummed contemplatively, releasing her chin and moving to block her only exit. Fixit bristled defensively, sending a data burst to Soundwave quickly, only to realize Dreadwing was using a signal disruptor. Which meant she was on her own till the TIC checked up on her again in five to ten minutes.

“…how did you find out?” she asked cautiously, glaring at him.

“…what did Ratchet look like?” the Seeker finally asked, which indirectly answered her question.

_When and how did Dreadwing get non-confrontational contact with the Autobots!?_ She cursed mentally, making sure to flinch slightly at Ratchet’s name before looking confused at the question. “…w-what?”

His optics narrowed. “What did Ratchet look like?”

She frowned, scowling at him as she inched away. “W-what does it m-matter?”

He vented heavily, rubbing his helm. “…please just answer the question, Fixit.”

She stared at him in (fake) bafflement. “…big and d-dark with o-o-one c-creep-py op-ptic-c.” She shivered, remembering Knives standing over her, insane delight shining in his eyes. Fixit wrenched herself out of the memory with effort, looking back at the grim Seeker…just in time for his hand to grasp a wire in her neck, sending her into oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses as to what Dreadwing’s doing? ‘Cause even I didn’t see this coming till he sprang it on me!


	36. Kidnapped...Again

_“How should I know what the best course of action is?”_

_“Seriously!? Aren’t you a god?!”_

_“That doesn’t mean I’m completely omnipotent…mortals have free will for a reason…”_

 

Fixit groaned as she clawed her way back to consciousness. Oh, her aching helm…

“I apologize for causing you pain, but I could not have you alerting the entirety of the Nemesis,” Dreadwing said from somewhere above and in front of her.

She onlined her optics and craned her helm to squint at the dark blue Seeker. Ooh, ow, bright sun…wait. Sun?

“OH COME ON!!!” Fixit yelled suddenly, slamming her helm back into the ground and startling Dreadwing. “WHY THE FRAG IS EVERYONE KIDNAPPING ME SUDDENLY!?! AM I WEARING A SIGN THAT SAYS ‘PLEASE KIDNAP THIS BOT, REWARD PROMISED?!?’”

The Seeker frowned, moving over to pull her up into a sitting position, ignoring the steady stream of inventive curses flowing from the Eradicon’s mouth. “Enough,” he said firmly, planting his servo over her mouth.

Her engine growled as she glared at him, but she nodded acceptance. He removed his servo and remained in his crouch in front of her, watching her thoughtfully. She twitched, scowling as she looked around.

_…yep, middle of nowhere. Great…._

“So what do you want?” Fixit spat, finally meeting the other’s optics. “Gonna kill me? Or are you going to have your way with me first, then off me?”

Dreadwing stiffened indignantly. “I would never force myself on anyone! How dare-”

“Well last time I was in a similar situation, that’s what ended up happening.”

The Seeker froze, staring at her snarling form with wide optics. He then shuttered them, crushing a rock in his servo as he vented steadily, suddenly furious.

Fixit watched him rein in his temper, making sure not to move. She had issues, yes, but that didn’t mean she was stupid.

Finally, he calmed enough to open his optics again, looking down at her. “I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you.”

“Let me out of these cuffs and I’ll show you exactly how frightened I am,” she hissed quietly, grinding her denta together. Dreadwing either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore the statement. Probably the latter.

“I assume you would like to know my intentions,” he said solemnly, watching her with a unreadable look in his optics.

“…if you would be so kind, good sir.” Ah, sarcasm. The one thing that was always there for her…

“I have removed you from the Decepticons-”

“No, really?”

“-for your own safety. You have been lied to-”

“I’m being lied to right now.”

“-and deceived greatly by them. The Autobots-”

“Evil fraggers.”

“-were not the ones to destroy your colony-”

“Like frag-!”

“SHUT UP!” Dreadwing roared suddenly, unable to ignore her snarky comments any longer.

Fixit flinched back, curling up defensively. He watched her for a moment longer, then went on, satisfied she wouldn’t be interrupting anymore.

“The Autobots did not destroy your colony. The Decepticons did. As proof, I offer you this: your description of Autobot Ratchet-”

Cue scared shiver.

“-does not match his actual physical appearance.”

“What?!”

“Rather, it matches the appearance of the Decepticon Head Scientist, Shockwave. Shockwave is also notorious for experimenting on live subjects…very few of which survive.”

Fixit stared at him. He stared back, brow furrowed in concern.

“Liar,” she said suddenly, narrowing her optics. “The Decepticons aren’t lying to me, you are. And even if they were (which they aren’t), why the frag would you care?”

He gave her a hard stare, but appeared to give up on convincing her of the ‘truth’ for now. “What has been done to you, what is being done to you, is wrong and dishonorable. Especially since you are a femme...one of the very few femmes left in existence.”

She scowled at him, and was about to reply when a groundbridge opened across the clearing behind him. Her helm jerked up hopefully…only to freeze in shock as Optimus Prime stepped through the bridge, his men following behind him.

His optics swept the clearing, landing on the Seeker who had stood. Fixit was hidden from the Prime by the Seeker’s bulk.

“Dreadwing,” he greeted. “I was not expecting to hear from you again.”

“Prime,” he inclined his helm slightly. “I had not planned on contacting you again…and then Fixit confirmed the story you told me was the truth. However, I learned something worrying when he talked to me.”

“Is Fixit alright?” Optimus asked in concern, stepping forward. Fixit could see his shadow moving.

_Well, I guess that answers the question of if the con was working…fraggin’ conscience, shut up!_

“His helm aches, but other than that, his physical condition is fine. His mind, however…”

“…what?”

“If you would be so kind as to describe Ratchet to Prime, Fixit…” Dreadwing stepped to the side, putting her huddled form into full view of the Autobots. She stared at them with wide, ‘frightened’ optics as they exclaimed in shock.

“Fixit…” Optimus breathed, moving over to her.

“R-Ryan? W-what-?” she stammered in false surprise, glancing between him and the Autobots in confusion and fear. “Y-you…Lord Megatron said you were offlined by R- by Rat- by the Doctor of Doom!”

He moved to crouch in front of her, retracting his battle-mask. “I was not offlined, Fixit. Megatron lied to you, just like he did to me.”

She shrunk back as he reached towards her, eyeing his servo warily. “I don’t- t-that’s not- but h-he wouldn’t- milord wouldn’t l-lie t-to me…”

Optimus vented heavily and let his servo fall, ignoring the stare-off between his soldiers and Dreadwing in the background. “He did lie to you, Fixit. He lied to both of us.”

“…I don’t…”

“Please, let me explain,” he pleaded, looking at her with the dreaded puppy eyes. Fraggit!

She opened and closed her mouth, but finally nodded tentatively.

> **OUTTAKE**
> 
> Starscream vented heavily as he walked to his quarters, reaching up to rub his helm. It still hurt from Dreadwing trying to kill him.
> 
> Dreadwing had unfortunately just barely gotten away, having been somehow alerted to Megatron’s approach. Nano-klicks after he fled, Soundwave had run in. Apparently Dreadwing had kidnapped Fixit and moved him to an unknown location…and without the Seeker, they had no way of knowing where the femme had been taken.
> 
> Fixit might have been an irritating fragger that enjoyed pissing him off, but he was oddly insightful and didn’t might sharing his thoughts. He was also one of the few who had never doubted Starscream’s intelligence, so even though he was annoying…Starscream didn’t really want anything to happen to the femme. He was one of the few tolerable fraggers on the Neme-
> 
> The Seeker yelped as he stepped into his quarters and was promptly doused in sparkly neon pink and green paint, rainbow feathers falling after it. He froze, staring at his colorful, feathered frame.
> 
> “FIXIT!!!” he screamed in fury, his cry ringing through the Nemesis. He was going to murder that fragger when he was found!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to 'Shimmer Mane' from FFnet for reminding me about the prank!


	37. Meet the Autobots

_“I think it looks good!”_

_“…you’re never allowed to pick out my furniture. Ever.”_

 

Fixit fumed as she was carried bridal-style into the Autobot base by Optimus, still cuffed. Her engine was growling quietly, but she made no move to try and escape. Been there, done that, failed miserably. Fraggin’ wings throwing off her fighting style completely…and stupid Dreadwing and his stupid slaggin’ sense of honor. The fragger didn’t even have the decency to defect to the Autobots to share in her misery! No, he just handed her over and left to go get himself killed avenging his fraggin’ perfect twin! GAAAAAAHHHH!!!

“Optimus, what-!? Why are you carrying an Eradicon!?” Ratchet exclaimed, staring at his Prime.

Fixit bared her denta and hissed at him, wings flaring as aggressively as they could whilst being held. Ratchet was taken aback, not expecting a drone to have a face.

“Fixit,” Optimus reprimanded, causing her to snarl at him before burying her face in his shoulder. He vented heavily, shaking his helm.

“Wait, that’s Fixit!?” Ratchet glanced between the back of her helm and Optimus. “The supposedly happy, friendly, and mischievous femme the Cons are lying to?”

“Yup,” Arcee confirmed dryly. “Only-”

“You’re the liars, not them!” Fixit growled, turning her helm slightly to glare at the medic.

“-he thinks we’re the ones lying,” she finished, scowling at the Eradicon Optimus had yet to put down. Fixit hissed at the motorcycle, turning her glare to him.

“Enough, Fixit!” Optimus glared at her, causing her to flinch back. She stared at him with wide optics as he began to walk down the hall. “I am taking Fixit to the brig,” he announced to his soldiers, pausing in the mouth of the hallway. “But he is not to be treated like a prisoner. He is here for medical aid, and will be treated respectfully. Understood?”

“…yes sir,” the Autobots chorused as he resumed walking, Fixit glancing back over his shoulder to eye them suspiciously.

 

**Ratchet (and Optimus)**

Fixit rumbled dangerously as Ratchet walked towards her, glaring at him with furious scarlet optics from where she was huddled against the examination table. 

“Fixit,” Optimus vented heavily. “Ratchet is just going to check-”

“Wait, Rat- Ra- that’s the Doctor of Doom!?” the Eradicon yelped, straightening in surprise. “But-”

“Yes, well, whatever lies the Decepticons told you about me, I can guarantee they’re false,” Ratchet snapped, starting to scan her.

“But…” she protested weakly, staring at him in confusion. After a moment, she glanced over at Optimus helplessly, like her entire world had just been snatched out from under her. “But he’s not…”

“Not what!?” the doctor snapped, scowling at the preliminary scan and beginning a new series of scans.

“Y-you…you only have one optic,” Fixit said, looking utterly lost. Ratchet’s attention snapped to her. “And…and you’re white and red, not black and purple…and you’re really grumpy, not…not utterly d-detached…I-I don’t u-understand-d…you’re…are y-you really…?”

“This is Autobot Ratchet, Fixit,” Optimus said gently, laying a hand on his horrified CMO’s shoulder. He knew Ratchet recognized the mech the Eradicon was describing. “And he has never had a black and purple paint scheme, nor has he ever had only one optic.”

Fixit stared, her expression very vulnerable, lost, and young. “…o-oh.” She looked down at the floor mutely, remaining unresponsive for the rest of the check-up.

 

**Bulkhead and Miko**

“…”

“…”

“So…”

“…”

“…did you really turn Knock Out into a ballerina!?” Miko asked excitedly, ignoring her guardian’s exasperated groan. 

Fixit glanced over at her briefly, but quickly returned to her defensive position in the corner, desperately trying to ignore the teenager’s relentless chatter. Bulkhead, who was her current guard (Optimus may have said she was to be treated like a guest, but her loyalty was clearly still to the Decepticons, and he wasn’t stupid enough to leave her unsupervised) shared a commiserating look with her over his charge’s head. Primus, the girl was almost worse than Knock Out! (Not Starscream, though- nobody was as bad as Creamer.)

 

**Arcee and Jack**

Jack fidgeted uncomfortably, glancing between his scowling guardian and the Eradicon frowning at the ground. 

“So…” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “…you and Optimus really get along, huh?”

Fixit didn’t react to his words at all, still staring at the floor. Arcee scowled at her lack of reaction, but chose not to comment. He was reserving judgment on the Eradicon for now.

 

**Bumblebee and Rafe**

“Hey,” Rafe called out to the Eradicon huddled against the far wall, an untouched cube of energon in front of her. He was perched on Bumblebee’s shoulder, the muscle car holding a box of video games. “Um, you’re Fixit, right?”

She shifted slightly, her scarlet optics peering over the top of her knees at them. She refused to say anything, simply watching them instead.

“I’m Rafael, but everyone just calls me Rafe,” the boy said with a smile. “This is Bumblebee, my guardian.”

Bee beeped a greeting, juggling the box to free a servo to wave cheerfully at her with.

“…we were wondering if you wanted to play a video game with us. There’s this awesome racing game, and-”

“…how old are you, bitlet?” Fixit asked, propping her chin on her knees as she gazed hesitantly at him.

“Uh- I’m twelve. And a half,” he replied, blinking at her in surprise. She hadn’t said anything to anyone- including Optimus- since Ratchet had checked her over.

She frowned thoughtfully. “How did you get caught up in this?”

Bumblebee beeped out an explanation, Rafe occasionally correcting him on a couple small details. She crossed her legs and leaned on them as she listened intently, scrutinizing their interactions carefully.

“…quite the story. Although, how exactly can you understand him? I know humankind has no knowledge of intergalactic binary.”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, Bumblebee mirroring his movements. Fixit would never admit it, but the two were pretty cute together. Maybe even adorable, under the right circumstances. “But I’m glad I can. It would suck, not being able to talk to Bee.”

She tilted her helm, watching them thoughtfully. _Frag it,_ she decided. _I can always claim I was figuring out their personalities to better con them later. Slaggin’ younglings and their fraggin’ adorableness…_

“…so what games did you have, again?”

Rafe and Bumblebee both brightened up, happily chattering away as they showed off their many games to her, plopping down on the ground. Fixit smiled indulgently, if a little sadly, and moved forward to sit right next to the bars, directly across from the younglings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant it when I said I’d refer to all femmes except Fixit as he, in case anyone was wondering why I used a male pronoun for Arcee. Cybertronians don’t have gender.  
> And aww, Bee and Rafe are just so cute together! Between them and Optimus’ puppy eyes, Fixit is so totally slagged.


	38. Goodbyes Suck

_“But why me? I know nothing about TF Prime!”_

_“Precisely.”_

 

Fixit cocked her helm listening carefully as all of the Autobots- excepting Ratchet- bridged out of base. _Annnnnd…now’s my chance._

Cautiously, wary of Ratchet coming to check on her, she pulled away a wall panel and set it on the ground. Wiggling her fingers as she eyed the circuitry, she dove in and began shutting off the alarm and opening the cell door. She hissed quietly under her breath, inaudibly cursing the outdated wiring, but eventually succeeded in her task.

She slipped out of her cell, listening to Ratchet as he fiddled around in the control room. Then she turned and began expertly slipping through the shadows, looking for an exit. Fixit ghosted through the base, taking in her surroundings and memorizing them carefully. Finally, she found the exit, and flitted outside.

Turning, she sprinted away from the base had taken her almost an hour to escape from. She raced to the next mesa, hiding behind it as she commed the Nemesis.

“Fixit to the Nemesis, come in,” she called quietly, crouching in the shadow of the rock.

There was static for a moment, then she got a response. “…Fixit!?!” ST-3V3 cried in shock. “What happened, where are you, are you okay!?”

“Hey Steve, guess what?” she asked cheerfully, sudden ill-hidden fury lacing her words.

“…what?” he asked warily.

“I know the location of the Autobot base!”

 

Fixit was just about to slip back into the Autobot base when a massive beam of light suddenly hit the ground not that far away. She staggered as it shook the ground, sending debris flying. Grasping the rock to stay upright, she stared in shock as something slowly began forming, rising out of the ground to tower over the landscape. And then suddenly, the beam stopped, leaving behind a towering metal fortress in its place.

Fixit gaped in shock for a while, but snapped out of it as the Nemesis came into view. She quickly dashed back into the base, heading straight for her cell and turning everything back on. She plopped down on the floor just as Bumblebee and Rafe came around the corner.

“Fixit, get up!” the boy cried as his guardian deactivated everything she had just turned back on. She gaped at them as they motioned for her to come with them, Bee even going so far as to wrap his servos around her arm and pull.

“Wha- what’s going on?!” she asked in confusion as she was pulled along.

“We’re evacuating the base, now come on! We need to go, now!”

_Ah, right, the Nemesis is here. Almost forgot about that._

She stumbled into the control room, Bee pushing her over to Optimus. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder, steadying her as he said farewell to his men. She watched, his broad servo sliding down to grip her arm tightly, as the Autobots filed through the groundbridge, until only she, Prime, and Ratchet were left.

Fixit frowned as Optimus told Ratchet to go ahead, pushing the Eradicon into his grasp.

“Wait, no, Ryan-!” she cried in dismay as she realized what he was doing, wrenching herself away from the doctor to grab the Prime’s arm.

“Fixit, please, go with Ratchet,” Optimus vented, reaching up to pull her servos off his arm.

“But-!”

He suddenly pulled her to him, crushing her in an embrace. “Please, Fixit. Just…go with Ratchet,” he murmured into her audio.

She looked at him as he pulled back, staring at each other. Finally, she nodded in acceptance, hugging him tightly before stepping back to stand with Ratchet. Fixit watched unhappily as Optimus bid the doctor farewell. And then she turned and followed Ratchet through the groundbridge, glancing back over her shoulder for one last glimpse of the mech she had formed the most unlikely of friendships with. 

He faded from view, and Fixit faced forwards once more, wishing cybertronians could cry.


	39. Season 3 Begins

_“Just be yourself, youngling. Nothing more is needed.”_

 

Fixit whined as the bridge closed behind them, staring forlornly at the spot where it once was. Ratchet vented heavily from behind her as he moved forward.

“…Fixit,” he asked hesitantly. “Do you still believe we’re lying to you?”

Her shoulders slumped. “…I-I don’t know,” she said miserably, channeling her grief over Optimus into fooling Ratchet. _It never stops nevernevernever I hate pulling cons but I need to but I don’t know why BUT I NEED TO!!!_

“…if the Decepticons came right now, would you side with me or them?” he asked grimly, pulling on her shoulder to make her face him.

She averted her gaze, too ashamed to look him in the optics, even whilst hiding behind her mask. “…I don’t know,” Fixit whispered, her wings drooping.

“…I was afraid you’d say that. I’m sorry, Fixit.”

And with that, Ratchet jabbed a sedative into her neck, knocking her out.

 

Fixit stirred slightly, faintly hearing Bee and Rafe arguing with an even grumpier-sounding Ratchet. She struggled to wake up, but there was still too much sedative in her systems, and she succumbed to the darkness once again.

 

She groaned softly as she was lifted and slung over a warm, broad shoulder. She drifted in and out as the person carrying her walked along, but slowly faded into darkness once more.

 

The Eradicon awoke slowly, hearing voices- both familiar and new- talking somewhere nearby. Gradually, she came out of unconsciousness, the sedative finally gone from her system. Groggily, Fixit opened her optics, glancing around…only to freeze at the familiar sight of her cell in the Harbinger.

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE SLAGGIN’ KIDDING ME!!!” she roared, slamming her helm back onto the ground. She then yelped in pain, curling up and clutching her helm gingerly. “Ow ow ow ow ow….”

Since she was busy whimpering in pain, she didn’t hear the footfalls as bots came down the corridor.

“I see you’ve finally woken up,” Ratchet said dryly. Fixit heard him deactivate the cell bars and step in, a scan following shortly after. “Hmm, your reserves are lower than I’d like…”

She muttered some very unkind words about the doctor, leading him to flick her lightly on the helm. She jumped back, her helm snapping up warily as she huddled defensively.

“Oh relax, no one here’s going to hurt you,” Ratchet griped, comming Bumblebee and telling him to bring some energon for Fixit.

Fixit didn’t reply, too busy staring at the new mechs behind the doctor. _Admittedly, I didn’t know that much about TF Prime…but I’m pretty sure Jazz, Ironhide, Prowl and Ultra Magnus never showed up in it! What the frag, have I really changed that much of the plot!?_

“…I was unaware there was a prisoner, Ratchet,” Prowl frowned along with Ultra Magnus. Ironhide just scowled at her suspiciously, his servos flexing around air, clearly wanting to pull out his cannons.

“Yo! What’s crackin’?” Jazz greeted her cheerfully, waving at her. He then grabbed Prowl’s servo and made him wave too, earning him a reprimand and a scowl from the other black and white.

“Fixit’s…technically a prisoner, I guess. Unless you believe us now?” he asked, raising a brow.

Her optics flickered to him and narrowed. “…yes, because I can totally think things over and change my mind whilst unconscious. Obviously.”

Ratchet opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Bee and Rafe’s arrival. 

“Fixit! You’re awake!” the boy cried in relief, Bumblebee obviously happy to see her as well.

“Ah-bup-bup-bup!” Ratchet scolded as Bee tried to go hug her, snatching the energon cube out of the scout’s servos. “No hugging! He still thinks we’re lying!”

Bee’s wings drooped sadly as he beeped mournfully at her. Fixit shifted uncomfortably, unable to look at the two disappointed younglings. _Why do younglings always seem to attach themselves to me!?_ she cursed mentally.

“Always?” Jazz asked curiously, crouching down in front of her.

She flinched away violently, scooting into the corner of the cell and glaring at him warily even as she cursed her tendency to think out loud.

The new mechs watched her reaction and unease in interest. Jazz looked faintly taken aback at her fear.

Ratchet rolled his optics, moving forward to toss the cube at her. She caught it instinctively, then immediately threw it back. The doctor snarled in frustration as Bee caught it. “Slaggit Fixit, are you trying to starve yourself to death!? Take the fragging cube!”

She just hissed at him, more focused on the other mechs.

“Why’re ya so concerned about a Con?” Ironhide drawled, scowling at the cowering Eradicon.

“Fixit’s not a Con!” Bee and Rafe protested in unison, one beeping the words.

“What?” came the collective response.

“He is wearing Decepticon insignia, and Ratchet just stated he was a prisoner,” Prowl pointed out logically.

“…it’s complicated,” the doctor vented, rubbing the side of his helm and glancing at the glowering femme.

“Then by all means, explain.” Ultra Magnus crossed his arms, staring hard at the Eradicon.

“Not it!” Bee and Rafe cried, causing Ratchet to scowl at them as he and Jazz stepped out of the cell, activating the bars once more.

“Fine…so-”

 

“…tha’s pretty heavy, doc,” Jazz said slowly, looking back in the direction of Fixit’s cell. Ratchet just huffed irritably at the saboteur.

Ultra Magnus and Prowl were frowning thoughtfully. Ironhide just looked like he was ready to charge out and blast Decepticon scum into pieces right then and there. Only Ratchet’s restraining servo kept him from doing so.

“…you say Knock Out told you what they were doing?” Prowl asked.

“Yeah. Er, well, not us, Smokescreen,” Bulkhead corrected himself.

“You told Fixit this, correct?”

“Yeah, but the fragger still won’t believe us,” Arcee scowled. He was more than a little annoyed by the Eradicon’s refusal to see the truth.

“I see.” Prowl considered this a moment longer. “Did Knock Out say anything else to Smokescreen?”

“Hey, didn’t Smokey say Knock Out told him that Soundwave was messing with Fixit’s memories?” Jack remembered suddenly, looking up at the Bots.

Jazz frowned at that. “…mebbe he was messin’ with more than just his mem’ries,” he mused, tapping his mouth thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t be tha’ first time tha’s happened, either,” he added, looking back at his comrades.

“You think Fixit’s refusal to accept the truth is due to Soundwave hacking him?” Ultra Magnus inquired.

“…that seems like the most likely reason,” Prowl stated, frowning. “Particularly in light of his apparent trust and fondness for Prime.”

“Well, what do we do then?” Rafe asked, wanting to help the femme. He and Bee both really liked him- he was smart, funny, kind, and had always been willing to play with or just listen to either of them back at base. 

The Autobots traded uneasy glances. “There…is not a whole lot we can do at the moment,” Ratchet broke the news to Rafe. “Soundwave is a brilliant hacker, and has a habit of leaving traps everywhere. We can’t risk triggering one, because we don’t know what it might do. It could wipe out Fixit’s mind entirely, or trigger his processor to shut down, or even make him go berserk and lash out at everything around him until he’s put down.”

“So we can’t do anything for him?!” Miko cried in dismay, voicing the sentiments of all the humans present.

“Not currently, no,” Ultra Magnus confirmed. “But eventually, we will get help for Fixit. I promise.”

 

Fixit frowned as she listened to the faint voices echoing down the corridor. So they thought Soundwave was messing with her mind, huh? She supposed she could work with that…

…and now she missed her creeper really, really badly. Fraggit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have included Prowl, Jazz and Ironhide. I planned on bringing them in since the very beginning! They’re just too awesome not to include!  
> And for some reason, writing the Autobots is much harder for me to do than writing Decepticons. Hopefully I just need more practice…


	40. Optimus Returns

_“You will not be able to tell anyone I chose you, youngling. The only way they can find out…well, that’s a surprise.”_

_“Are you fraggin’ serious!?”_

 

Fixit sulked in her cell. All the Bots had gone off, leaving her here alone, the perfect opportunity to escape…except for one small detail designated Jazz. The fraggin’ saboteur had trussed her up so she was unable to move anything but her wings and helm. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, he had Wheeljack place grenades all over the outside of the cell. If the bars deactivated or the metal around the cell was warped, the grenades would go off and it’d be bye-bye, Fixit.

The moment she saw Wheeljack, Fixit had hissed at him before proceeding to ignore him the rest of the time, even with him needling her verbally. The Wrecker even tried to poke her once, and almost gotten his servo bit off.

(Jazz had proceed to poke her multiple times afterwards; she just kept flinching away in fear from him.)

Fixit slammed her helm back against the wall, utterly bored. Frag, she almost wished the Bots would win, if only so she could get out of here sooner!

 

Jazz and Wheeljack walked back to Fixit’s cell sheepishly. In all the excitement of defeating the Cons, discovering Prime was still online, and reuniting, they had completely forgotten about the Eradicon and the Harbinger for almost three entire cycles.

They turned down the hall and walked up…only to freeze in astonishment. The cell was totally empty...and none of the grenades had been set off.

 

Fixit clung to the ceiling, desperately hoping that they would be so curious as to how she escaped that they would deactivate the defenses. But alas, it was not to be as Jazz leaned over and glanced up.

He stared, then snorted in amusement. “Havin’ fun up there?”

She would’ve scowled at him if she could, but her mouth was currently too busy biting down on the ledge to prevent her falling. She did manage a faint growl, though.

 

She sulked as she followed Jazz through the groundbridge, still determinedly ignoring Wheeljack. The Wrecker was pretty annoyed with her by now.

Fixit glared at the ground, refusing to acknowledge anyone in the room.

“…Fixit?”

Her helm shot up and she stared in shock at a bigger, bulkier Optimus Prime.

He moved towards her, ignoring the disapproval of the newer mechs as he bent over to look at her. “Fixit, are you alright?”

She gave a hysterical laugh that sounded more like a sob, smacking his chest before throwing herself at him and clinging desperately, shaking like a leaf.

“…i-if you ever, ever, do that to me again I will revive you just to kill you myself!” she wailed, burying her helm in his startled shoulder. “You…you fraggin’ moron! Fraggit Ryan, your sense of self-preservation is worse than the Roombas’!”

Optimus wrapped his arms around her, wincing guiltily as he ignored his startled men. “…sorry, Fixit. Although I don’t really think I’m as bad as the Roombas…”

She sniffled, her shaking beginning to calm as she listened to the steady pulsing of his spark. “…this one incident makes you worse than almost all of them put together,” she bit out. His ‘death’ had truly affected her- somehow, at some point, she had legitimately become attached to the Prime, and now viewed him as family.

_And the rest of my weird family is all Decepticons, she thought unhappily. Yeah, this is totally going to end well._

_At least the new arrivals are starting to believe the story now, though…after all, it’s pretty obvious right now how much I care for Ryan._

 

Fixit stared at the massive vehicle Optimus was scanning as his new alt mode.

“That’s, like…the ultimate car killer,” she said, starting to back away slightly. Jazz snickered at her, earning him a glare. Prowl remained impassive.

When Optimus was on base, she was allowed to follow him around pretty much everywhere, especially since she had thrown a fit the first time they had tried to pull her away from him. When the Prime wasn’t on base, she was either in her cell or ‘escorted’ by at least two mechs.

Wheeljack was never one of her guards anymore, though. Everytime he had been assigned to babysitting duty, Fixit had either ignored him totally or tried to bite him continuously. (She honestly didn’t know why Fixer insisted on trying to bite him, which allowed her to truthfully tell Optimus she didn’t know why she tried to bite the Wrecker. So far, the Bots’ leading theory on why was a glitch caused by Soundwave’s ‘hacking.’ Not that it made Wheeljack any less irritated with her.)

Jazz and Bumblebee were her most frequent guards, seeing as she got along with them best out of the rest of the Autbots. Bumblebee, because he was absolutely adorable and Fixit was a sucker for younglings (although she was pretty sure he was playing up the whole ‘innocence’ angle in order to get closer to her), and Jazz because…well, he was Jazz. She had never really stopped looking up to him, and had to try very hard not to fangirl over him even slightly.

Prowl was usually busy along with Ultra Magnus, making sure everything got done, but the tactician also took a fair amount of guard duty. Fixit generally behaved better for Prowl than anyone except Optimus (because he reminded her of Popcorn), and would happily sit in a corner of his and Magnus’ shared office solving puzzles as the two mechs worked.

Occasionally, some of the remaining Bots would take a shift, but at least one of those five was almost always with her.

“Do not worry, Fixit,” Optimus rumbled with a mischievous look in his optics, having finished scanning the vehicle. “I will make sure not to run you over unless you deserve it.”

She stuck her glossa out at him, causing the Prime to chuckle. He reached out to clap a servo on her shoulder and pushed her towards Ratchet’s medbay. She groaned, causing more laughter from Optimus and Jazz. Prowl’s lips twitched slightly, but smoothed out almost immediately.

“These scans are necessary if we wish to fix the damage Soundwave inflicted on your processor,” he reprimanded.

Fixit sobered, giving him a wary, mistrustful look. She might be allowing them to look over her coding, but that didn’t mean she was fully ‘convinced’ they were telling the truth just yet.

_I miss the Nemesis so badly,_ she thought wistfully, ignoring the disapproving looks directed towards the occasionally tactless tactician. _But more than that…I miss my family. Sure, Ryan’s here, but he’s really busy and I don’t get to see him that often._

_And here, I can’t see Steve, or Knock Out, or Ravage, or Lazerbeak…and I sure as frag can’t see Soundwave._ Her wings drooped miserably, her companions attributing it to the fact that they had just walked into medbay. _I miss my creeper so much…I hadn’t realized just how often he was around until he wasn’t there, and now it’s like…like part of myself is missing. A vital part…one I need really badly._

_I need to escape as soon as possible…preferably before the pain of being separated from my Soundwave gets to the point where it physically hurts. A similar thing happened to me when Popcorn died, after all, and…I need Soundwave so much more than I ever needed Popcorn, which is saying something!_

_I loved Popcorn, true…but I’m in love with Soundwave. And that, I think, makes all the difference._


	41. Escape #2

_“Tell me, youngling…how do you feel about dragons?”_

 

Fixit was lying on her back, legs running up her cell wall, idly kicking her pedes over her helm in utter boredom. She vented heavily and stretched her arms out, maintaining a show for the security camera. In actuality, she was listening carefully to the sounds on base…and Arcee and Wheeljack had just left to fetch another Predacon bone, which meant she, Ratchet and Prowl were the only ones left on base. Optimus, Bee, Smokescreen and Jazz had gone to Texas, and Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, Miko and Ironhide were currently on their way back from Scotland. If she wanted to escape, now was the time.

She rolled her legs down onto either side of her helm, then rolled up onto her feet, leaning against the wall. She slipped her servo under the panel, triggering the camera loop she had installed several cycles ago. That done, Fixit straightened up and began her escape.

 

Fixit slinked through the base, heading for the groundbridge. Using it to bridge to a faraway location and then immediately taking to the skies was her best bet for successfully escaping since Jazz was around. She just hoped her distraction worked- she didn’t want to hurt Ratchet. (Or Prowl, but he was busy with paperwork in his office and easy enough to avoid. Ratchet was the one by the groundbridge.)

 

Loud Slash Monkey music began blaring from the direction of Bulkhead’s quarters, causing Ratchet to jump and swear impressively. Fixit muffled her laughter with her servo as the doctor stalked off, muttering that he was going to murder the impudent younglings under his breath.

She waited a moment, making sure he was gone, then ran for the groundbridge controls. She programmed in new coordinates, fired it up, and ran through. The Eradicon emerged in South America, on top of Angel Falls, and promptly dove off the edge, transforming in mid-air. She blasted off, resigned to systematically searching the globe, since Jazz had messed with her communications systems, rendering them unusable.

But even with that inconvenience, Fixit found herself laughing as she spiraled through the air for the first time in a long while. Finally, she was free again!

 

She vented heavily as she slumped against the cave wall. Fixit was running dangerously low on energon, and she had yet to find the Nemesis or another Decepticon. She had accidentally found several Predacon bones in her search, though, so there was that. Although she could’ve done without some of the injuries that came along with accidentally finding said bones…stupid unstable rocks…

She had been saving as much energon from her rations as she could secret away without Jazz noticing in preparation for her escape. It wasn’t a lot, but it had been enough to keep her going for two human weeks. But the last of the energon had run out two cycles ago, and quite frankly, she just didn’t have any energy to spare anymore. The best thing she could do at this point is stay here and not do much of anything…next to the pile of Predacon bones. Seriously, she had found, like, seven, but did she find any Decepticons? Noooo, of course not. Grrr…

 

Fixit groaned as someone shook her from side-to-side. “…ixit. Fixit! Fixit, wake up!”

She opened her optics blearily, tiredly gazing up at a worried ST-3V3. 

“…hey Steve, what up?” she whispered tiredly, shuttering her optics again. She was just so sleepy…

“No, Fixit, stay awake! Come on, stay with me!” Steve cursed, hauling her up into his arms and rushing past the rest of his concerned fellows towards the groundbridge.

“…bones?” she breathed, weakly trying to turn her helm.

“Yes, someone’ll get the bones, now stay awake! Um, I, where did you find them all, there’s a ton of bones!” he asked, desperate to keep her conscious.

“…looking…looking for…Nemesis,” she murmured into his shoulder quietly as they ran through the bridge. 

She was barely aware of the commotion that arose when Steve burst through the bridge holding her battered, drained frame. The Vehicon holding her ignored everyone, simply sprinting for the medbay and comming Knock Out frantically. And even as he burst through the medbay doors, Fixit lost her grip on reality, the last thing she heard being KO’s panicked swearing.

 

Something was stroking her helm tenderly. Fixit vented softly in contentment, moving slightly to nuzzle her helm into the comforting sensation.

“Fixit?” a deep voice asked, the stroking stopping. “Fixit, are you awake?”

She whined, butting her helm against the servo pleadingly.

“Fixit-!”

“No, not awake if it means you stop,” she whimpered, trying to get the servo to keep petting her. The voice gave a breathless, relieved laugh, something warm coming to rest on her shoulder. But the servo resumed its caresses, causing Fixit to purr in contentment.

“Fixit,” came a whisper close by, followed by a gentle pressure on her lips.

Blearily, the Eradicon opened her optics. She shuttered them a few times, not understanding, before comprehension dawned. “Soundwave?” she whispered as he drew back slightly to look at her again.

“Fixit,” he said, raising his other servo to caress her face, his purple optics meeting her scarlet ones.

Her vents hitched. “I m-missed you,” she sobbed quietly, shakily raising her own servos to cling to the TIC’s strong frame.

He gathered her into his arms, laying down beside her on the berth and holding his Eradicon tightly to him. He brushed kisses all over her helm as she buried it in his neck, clutching him desperately. He released his cables, entangling her in them, pulling her to him even tighter. Not that she was protesting, seeing as she was trying to burrow into him even deeper.

She pulled her helm back slightly in order to reach up and pull Soundwave into a desperate, needy kiss. He kissed her back just as demandingly, his glossa immediately plunging into her mouth, ravishing her. Her arms went around his neck, somehow pulling herself even closer to him.

He rolled them, bracing himself over her as he devoured her mouth, servos and tentacles desperately stroking over every part of Fixit’s frame they could reach. She keened into his mouth, servos grasping at his helm and shoulders as she wrapped her legs around his waist, scraping their hot interface panels together, making them moan in unison.

Soundwave broke the kiss to attack her neck, grinding his hips down on hers. She threw her helm back with a cry, bucking up into him involuntarily as she shivered in pleasure, raking her servos over his frame. 

“S-Soundwave,” she groaned. “P-please.”

She didn’t know exactly what she was begging for- she could barely think under Soundwave’s ministrations- but her words caused him to growl possessively, making her cry out in pleasure as the vibrations traveled through her frame. He pulled away from her neck to recapture her mouth, greedily swallowing her moans. His servos slid down her frame, tracing the transformation seams till they reached her hips. One slid under her to cup her aft, kneading it and pulling a desperate moan from her. The other servo traced over her interface panel lightly, before abruptly giving it a long, firm stroke. He continued to touch her, capturing her cries with his mouth, pressing her further into the berth beneath-

The Nemesis was rocked by a sudden impact, causing them to fall off the berth. Soundwave rolled so the newly-repaired Eradicon landed safely on top of him, holding her tightly. He sent a quick burst message to his symbionts, then relaxed at their reply, although he was fairly annoyed by the interruption.

“W-what was that!?” Fixit cried, pushing herself up on his chest to glance around, her cooling fans still working overtime. Oh, hey, they were in Soundwave’s quarters. When’d they get here?

“It’s fine, Fixit,” the TIC scowled in annoyance and resignation, running his servos soothingly over her back as he pulled her back down. “It’s just the Predacon landing again.”

She stared at him. “…but…aren’t the Predacons…?”

“Extinct? Shockwave cloned one.”

“…oh. Oh, right, now I remember, I heard the Bots talking about it,” she mused, resting her servos and chin on Soundwave’s chest as she panted, looking at the mech she was laying on. “Oh, wait, sorry, I must be squishing you-”

Soundwave immediately used all his appendages to crush her to him. “Don’t you dare move,” he snarled, pulling her helm to rest against his. “I only just got you back, there’s no fraggin’ way I’m letting you go anytime soon.”

“…sorry,” Fixit murmured, looking away. 

He vented heavily, using a tentacle to coax her into looking at him again, resuming stroking her back. “Getting kidnapped wasn’t your fault, Fixit.”

“Except Dreadwing wouldn’t have kidnapped me if it hadn’t been for the con I pulled on Optimus,” she muttered ruefully, shuttering her optics as she rested her helm against his.

Soundwave frowned, pulling one of his servos away from her back to trace her face. “I think you’d better start from the beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixit and Soundwave are always getting interrupted…poor them.


	42. Hello, Mister Dragon

_“…Primus?”_

_“Yes, youngling?”_

_“You suck.”_

_"Flatterer."_

 

“Will you stop trying to trip me you stupid fraggin’ toaster!” Fixit snarled as she danced down the Nemesis’ halls, avoiding the cybercat weaving between her pedes. Lazerbeak just snickered from where he was plastered against Fixit’s helm.

The entire crew had rejoiced when Fixit had walked the halls for the first time since getting kidnapped again. Soundwave had needed to go work, and he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight, so he dragged her along. He wouldn’t let her go anywhere without him or both Lazerbeak and Ravage, but she wasn’t complaining. Frankly, she was amazed he was willing to let her leave his side at all, even if it was for very short periods of time…although pretty much all of that time was spent in medbay working.

Knock Out had literally glomped her when she showed up in medbay, not even caring about the scratches to his paint. (He had definitely cared later, but in the heat of the moment he hadn’t, which was really sweet.) It had taken him a long time to proclaim her ready for duty again, even though everyone knew she was fine now. She had been out for almost five whole cycles after Steve found her, though, so she supposed KO’s reluctance was understandable.

A joor or so after Soundwave had dragged her out with him, a bunch of Vehicons had shown up, all bearing presents. Apparently, _every single one of them_ had chipped in for these presents, they were that happy to have her back. Fixit just stared at them before putting the presents down and giving all of them a hug. Then she told them to go hug the other Roombas for her as well, causing them to salute her and head out.

Once Soundwave’s office was cleared, he locked the door and crushed her to him, giving her a fierce kiss that took away her ability to think for a little while. When she regained the ability to think, she asked him what he thought he was doing.

“What, I’m not allowed to give you a present?” he asked innocently, unable to completely suppress his smug smirk.

She wacked his chest before pulling him into another kiss. After a moment or two, she broke away.

“You need to get back to work, and I need to open my presents,” she explained as he tried to keeping kissing her. He huffed, pouting at her (though he would never admit it), but reluctantly turned back to his work, unlocking his door and replacing his visor as he did so. Fixit gathered up her presents and plopped down at Soundwave’s pedes, leaning against his legs as Lazerbeak and Ravage ‘helped’ her open the packages. 

And ooo, were they good presents. Yes, she could definitely use some of these…

 

Fixit whooped in joy as she soared through the air with Lazerbeak, Ravage watching in fond exasperation from the flight deck as they roared in and transformed in mid-air to make a perfect landing.

“She nails the landing, and the crowd goes wild!” Fixit cheered, throwing her arms up in the air as Lazerbeak leapt onto her shoulder. “Whooooo!”

Ravage snorted…and then his helm whipped around. He jumped up and ran to stand protectively in front of Fixit, growling along with his brother as the Predacon stepped onto the hull.

The Eradicon noticed their odd behavior, turning to look. She gaped at the dragon, it staring impassively back at her…

“And why, exactly, do you have scratches and dents all over you?” Fixit scowled, placing her servos on her hips. The two symbionts gave her incredulous looks. The dragon just looked faintly taken aback.

She stabbed her finger at the hull in front of her. “Get over here and let me scan you, now. Who knows what you’ve done to yourself!”

It stared at her for a moment longer, then moved forward, bringing its helm down to glare at her.

“Oh please,” she snorted, flicking her wings dismissively. “My twin was scarier than you. Now hold still, I’m going to scan you now.”

It…frowned at her, but otherwise didn’t react to her scan, taking the intelligence mechs aback. They had expected it to do something…

As if reading their thoughts, Fixit flicked them both on the helm. “You two both look like animals, yet you’re clearly intelligent. Why can’t he be too?”

The symbionts were fairly sheepish at that, but quickly snapped back to defensive positions as the dragon lay down in front of the Eradicon, watching her curiously as she muttered irritably to herself.

“You, sir, are in horrible shape, and it’s going to take me forever to fix you, and I still have that massive backload of work from when I was kidnapped, and- well, clearly I’m gonna have to put that prank on hold for a little while…”

The Predacon moved his helm to nudge Fixit’s torso lightly, clearly intrigued by her. And now that they were actually looking, Lazerbeak and Ravage could clearly see the light of intelligence in the dragon’s optics.

“Stop that,” the Eradicon said distractedly, absent-mindedly pushing his helm away. She suddenly refocused on the towering beast, pointing her finger at him. “And don’t think you’re getting out of repairs, mister! I have no qualms about hunting you down and fixing you via force.”

There was a loud ‘clang’ as Starscream and Knock Out facepalmed in unison from where the officers were watching the meeting. Soundwave looked very close to copying them, though it was only evident to those who knew him well. Megatron was shaking his helm in exasperated amusement, whilst Shockwave was just mildly intrigued.

The Predacon watched her a moment longer, before huffing in amusement and giving her a brief nuzzle with his helm. Then he got up and walked away, leaving the distracted and muttering Eradicon behind, totally unscathed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Fixit. Only you would scold a dragon many times your size and threaten to repair him via force if necessary.  
> And now, Soundwave isn’t going to let you out of his sight ever again.


	43. Zombi- er, Terrorcons

_“…that is the worst idea I have ever heard. And I lived with_ Callahan _for_ years.”

 

“Hmm…” Fixit hummed thoughtfully as she leaned against Soundwave’s legs. The TIC and Ravage were busy working, but Lazerbeak was curled up on her lap.

:What?: the little femme asked, looking up at the Eradicon curiously.

“Oh, nothing,” she said innocently, idly fixing the last thing from the giant pile KO had given her to repair.

:Fixit…:

**:Well…I was thinking about doing a prank with Queen songs…:**

:Who’s ‘Queen?’:

Fixit gaped in indignant disbelief at the symbiont. “You don’t know who Queen is!? Sacrilege! This must be remedied immediately!” she exclaimed, thrusting a finger above her helm.

Soundwave reached out and grabbed her servo without taking his attention away from the console. His Eradicon glowered at him, trying to tug her servo back down. He refused to let go, causing her efforts to escape to escalate until she was literally hanging at an angle above the ground, ineffectively trying to get her servo back. 

(By this point, Lazerbeak had flown off a while ago to go work, since Fixit had been busy.)

Finally, she huffed, giving up and slumping back down to sit on his pedes. “Fine, I give up, what will it take for you to give my servo back?”

He just tightened his grip on her servo, pulling it closer to him and making it clear he had no intention whatsoever of letting go, even though his expression was hidden by his visor. Fixit’s engine rumbled irritably as her optics narrowed. Then she grinned deviously, an idea springing into her mind. Hey, if she had to be trapped, why not have some fun?

She turned to face her creeper, leaning her helm against his abdomen and resting her free servo on his hip in mock surrender. The Eradicon waited for a breem, making sure Soundwave was as relaxed as possible whilst on duty before she struck.

Dipping her helm suddenly, she licked a long, hot line up the TIC’s interface panel.

Soundwave choked in shock, instinctively trying to jerk back to look down at her. She wrapped her arm around his hips, bracing her pedes against the floor on either side of him and pulling him back towards her as she continued to mouth his panel almost desperately. He shuddered, the servo not gripping hers dropping down to clutch her helm.

“F-Fixit,” he gasped, curling over her. “W-what-?”

She rumbled in satisfaction at his reaction, licking the junction between his leg and panel. He hissed in pleasure, releasing her servo to clench her helm in both of his. Fixit immediately put her freed servo to good use, rubbing it over his panel beside her glossa. She unwrapped her arm from around his hips, scraping her claws down and over his panel, sucking fiercely at the same time. Her fingers found the release catch and pressed it.

He cried out quietly, bent almost in half and leaning heavily on the console as his panel retracted, his spike extending into his Eradicon’s waiting mouth. She sucked on it greedily, glossa running all over it as her servo dipped down, rubbing along the rim of his valve, teasing it, drawing a moan from the normally reserved host mecha.

Soundwave made a strangled sound, his knees threatening to give out on him as Fixit attempted to devour his equipment. She sucked and licked and nipped and swallowed, taking more and more of his spike until her face was pressed firmly against his hips. At the same time, she abruptly thrust two of her fingers into his tight, hot valve, scissoring them as the TIC’s vocalizer seized up. He trembled around her as she continued her ministrations, unable to do much more than cling to her. 

Fixit was rather smug about this reversal of roles, even as she hummed around his length in her throat. Although she preferred being the one ravished by him (not that they’d done anything other than kissing and groping before this), she wasn’t adverse to changing things up occasionally.

The host mecha keened softly over his Eradicon’s helm, writhing in place as she pleasured him. His grip on her helm became tighter and tighter as she pushed him closer to the edge. And then, she scraped her denta lightly over his spike, causing him to overload with a strangled cry. She swallowed his transfluid greedily, sucking down every last drop as he shook, claws scraping against her helm.

Soundwave slumped in exhaustion, slowly sliding down the console to rest on the ground next to Fixit as she pulled off his length. He leaned his helm back tiredly, twitching slightly as she pulled her fingers out of his valve.

She grinned smugly, reaching up to remove her creeper’s visor with her clean servo. His purple optics onlined, slowly focusing on her…just in time to see her start sucking off his lubricant from her fingers. The TIC froze, staring as she slowly and sensually licked her fingers clean, smirking at him when she was done.

He vented sharply, his servo snapping out to yank the Eradicon to him roughly, smashing his lips against hers. Fixit clung to him willingly, straddling his lap and grinding down as he crushed her against himself, devouring her mouth-

They jumped as Lord Megatron suddenly declared the ship to be on high alert over the public comm.

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Fixit snarled in frustration, Soundwave sharing her sentiments. Why were they always fraggin’ interrupted just when it was getting good!?

 

Fixit buried her face in her servos. ST-3V3 just kind of fidgeted sheepishly, glancing nervously at the locked entrance to medbay occasionally. Soundwave had told her that under no circumstances was she to leave the medbay, unless it was to escape an attacker. And then, since he needed Ravage and Lazerbeak’s assistance and KO was off elsewhere, he assigned Steve to be her guard. She didn’t really mind that- it was what Steve had just told her that she minded.

“So, let me get this straight. Creamer and KO were experimenting on Cylas.”

“…yes,” Steve said quietly, eyeing her warily.

“And after injecting him with too much Synth En, Creamer came up with the brilliant idea to infuse Cylas with dark energon.”

“Yup.”

“At which point, he turned into a zombie/vampire aka Terrorcon, and proceeded to attack and convert any other Vehicons he came across.”

“Unfortunately.”

“And now the rest of the Nemesis is busy fighting the Terrorcons off, whilst KO and Creamer are in charge of fixing the problem.”

“…sounds about right.”

“Sweet Primus, are KO and Creamer completely incapable of not getting themselves totally slagged!?!” she cried in exasperation, throwing her servos into the air. “I swear, someday I’m just going to do us all a favor and off them both my-fraggin’-self! Those complete and utter morons!!! I-”

Something banged against the door, trying to scrape its way through. Fixit and Steve jerked to attention, aiming their guns at the doors as the rattling continued.

“…somehow I think they’ve found us,” Fixit commented dryly, free servo dancing over her desk beside her, assembling something.

Steve watched her servo cautiously, but decided he didn’t really want to know. “Hopefully Commanders Starscream and Knock Out will fix the problem before they beat the door down.”

She shot him a wry look. “We are talking about the same Creamer and KO, right?”

He glared slightly at her, ignoring the banging for now since it was clear the Terrorcons weren’t getting in anytime soon.

 

“…okay, you’re right. That one suits Knock Out the best,” Steve agreed sheepishly, sitting on the table beside Fixit. They were still trapped in medbay with Terrorcons outside banging away, and the Vehicon had resigned himself to helping the Eradicon plan her next prank. It’s not like there was anything else to do, after all.

“Alright, sweet. So that’s KO, Creamer, the rest of the toasters, Lord Megatron, and Soundwave…I think that’s everyone! Yes, this is going to be so awesome!” Fixit punched her fist into the air in elation.

Steve just vented heavily.

 

The banging stopped suddenly, causing the two occupants of medbay to look up. They glanced at each other as the silence continued.

“Do you think…?” Steve asked hopefully, staring warily at the doors.

“…maybe. But we should wait until someone gives us the all-clear,” Fixit murmured, watching carefully.

 

Fixit and Steve shot to their pedes as the doors rattled. They aimed their guns as, ever so slowly, the doors began to open…revealing Knock Out and Shockwave, both uninfected.

“Is it over?” the Eradicon asked, straightening up and lowering her weapon slightly.

“Finally,” Knock Out muttered irritably, annoyed for some reason.

“Why were you barricaded in the medbay?” Shockwave demanded, stalking in.

“Orders from Soundwave,” Fixit replied easily, putting away her weapon calmly and ignoring the way KO and Steve both tensed.

The one-opticed mech stared at her suspiciously, obviously comming the TIC to confirm her story. Finally, he relaxed slightly, dismissing her in favor of ordering Knock Out to show him all of the doctor’s experiments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soundwave and Fixit getting interrupted is going to be a running theme. One that they are less than pleased with.  
> And look, bonding time with Steve!
> 
> Also, the prank she's planning in this chapter will be put up on Mischief Managed shortly.


	44. Draconic Courting

_“…could you make this anymore complicated? Wait, no, don’t answer that. Of course you can.”_

 

Fixit winced in sympathy as Predaking stormed off the bridge. As soon as he was gone, Starscream and Knock Out burst into laughter. She cast them an irritated glance before starting to walk back to medbay.

_Genocide is not funny, nor is it right, no matter how big a threat they were. I might not agree with Lord Megatron’s actions, but it isn’t my place to argue with them either._

_But that doesn’t mean I can’t prank Creamer and KO mercilessly for their amusement…_

 

She stared at the massive amounts of cybermatter in awe…and then abruptly snapped out of it as the Vehicons acted like themselves.

“DON’T DO THAT YOU FRAGGIN’ ROOMBAS!!! HAVE YOU NO SENSE OF SELF-PRESERVATION WHATSOEVER!?!”

 

Fixit groaned alongside Knock Out. Don’t get her wrong, she wanted to see Cybertron restored, that was great…but supervising the Roombas whilst they rebuilt the Omega Lock?

They were so totally scrapped…

 

The Eradicon hummed “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers quietly as she snuck into the nuclear power plant, shutting off all the alarms as she did so. She was surprised Soundwave let Starscream take her for this mission.

Then again, they really needed those control rods, and the host mecha and his symbionts were busy elsewhere. After them, she was the sneakiest bot on board the Nemesis, and letting Creamer set off all the alarms would only complicate things unnecessarily.

 

“Honestly, you’re almost as bad as the Roombas! What is it with everyone and having little to no self-preservation recently!” Fixit ranted as she finished repairing Predaking, Ravage ‘supervising’ (aka ‘napping’) from a pile on her desk.

“You are…different than the others,” the dragon said slowly, watching her oddly.

“Because I’m one of the few with common sense,” she muttered, turning to put her tools away. “There, you’re done, you can go.”

“That is not what I meant,” he said, choosing to ignore her last statement.

“Then what did you mean?” she vented, facing him again.

He lifted one of his massive servos, placing it over her chest, directly above her spark. “This…is why you feel different. You feel like…a bearer.”

Fixit froze, staring at him. _Well…I suppose since he’s so in touch with his primal side, it makes it easier for him to tell such differences. Maybe. I hope. Please let him be intelligent enough to not succumb to his primal instincts. Please please please please please._

“…and?” she asked carefully, shifting into a defensive stance and pinging Ravage to wake up.

He frowned at her. “I will not harm you. Bearers are gifts, assets. You can help me bring back my people. To harm you would be the height of foolishness.”

She lifted a brow. “Well, not everyone thinks that way, and I don’t particularly want to bear anything right now. You going to force me?”

“Of course not!” he said, insulted, dropping his servo from her chest to hold her servos in his. “In order to become your mate, I must court you properly. I must show you that I am strong, and that I can protect and provide for you, as well as any offspring we might bear.”

“…ah.” She shifted uncomfortably. “Well, that’s…flattering, I suppose…um…”

Thankfully, she was saved from having to give the mech staring at her intently an answer by a distraught Lazerbeak flying in.

 

Fixit snarled to herself, cradling Lazerbeak against her neck whilst Ravage leaned against her pedes. She was sorting through all of Soundwave’s surveillance on the Autobots and their allies- like frag she was just going to sit around while her creeper was held captive!

 

She fumed, hunting down Vehicons to be fixed for something to do while she waited. Ravage trailed behind her, unwilling to let her out of his sight. Lazerbeak had flown off to follow the Autobots’ human liaison and hopefully follow him straight to their base…and Soundwave.

Her creeper had better be alright…

 

“I am to be present at our next objective, as it is likely the Autobots will show up,” Predaking informed Fixit, having cornered her in medbay. “Is there anything you would like me to bring to you, to prove I am worthy of becoming your mate?”

“Er…” the Eradicon shifted nervously from where she was trapped against the wall, the dragon’s servos on either side of her. She was uncomfortably aware that she stood no chance of fighting him off if he decided to be aggressive, hence why she was allowing the courting to continue. She had informed him she had another suitor already, but since he ‘had yet to claim her spark,’ Predaking refused to discontinue his courting. Go figure. “I, um…I would like…a large piece of obsidian?”

He frowned, dipping his helm close to hers as he searched the internet. “And this would…please you?”

“…obsidian’s always been my favorite type of rock,” she said honestly, hesitantly meeting his optics.

Predaking rumbled in satisfaction, straightening. “Then I shall get you this rock. It will do, for my first courting present.” 

He turned and walked out, leaving Fixit to slump into a relieved ball against the wall as Ravage slinked out from under a desk to join her. Oh, Soundwave was not going to be happy about this…

 

The Eradicon muttered irritably as she repaired all the idiotic Roombas. Honestly, for such supposed elite soldiers, they sure were crappy fighters…

 

“I have found the obsidian you asked for,” Predaking said, walking over to Fixit as she cleaned off her desk. Knock Out glanced up from the other side of medbay in confusion as Ravage growled slightly.

“Ah…um, thanks,” she said uncertainly, looking up at the dragon. **:I’ll explain once he leaves,:** she commed KO, who looked ready to intervene. He glanced at her, but crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, willing to wait for now.

He held out his servo, dropping a massive chunk of obsidian into her waiting servos. She let out an ‘oof,’ almost dropping it on her pedes were it not for Predaking supporting her servos with his.

“Sweet Primus…” she breathed, gazing in awe at the pitch black rock in her servos, forgetting momentarily about the dragon looming over her. “It’s massive! Like, almost…four feet in diameter! Where did you find this!?”

The dragon chuckled as she looked up at him, finally letting go of the fear that had gripped her ever since he declared his intentions to court the bearer. He was pleased with this progress.

“I take it this is a suitable courting gift?” he asked, ignoring Knock Out’s sudden choking.

“That’s so cool…” she whispered, shifting so that she could support the rock on her own, carefully not answering the Predacon’s question. “Thank you!” she beamed up at him, turning to place the obsidian on her desk.

He smirked, reaching out to caress her wing and ignoring Ravage’s snarl. Fixit jumped at the touch, whirling back around.

“I am glad it pleases you,” he said honestly, amused at the way she flushed. 

“Right, well, yes…not to be rude, but I really need to get back to work?” she asked, peeking up at him tentatively.

“Of course,” he inclined his helm, brushing his fingers over her cheek lightly. “I will see you later.”

He walked out of medbay, the doors closing behind him.

“What the frag just happened, Fixit!?” Knock Out burst out, staring at his Apprentice in shock.

She winced. “It’s a long story…”

 

KO’s face was buried in his servos. “…Predaking is courting you because he believes you’re a femme and wants to use you to make more Predacons.”

Fixit shifted uncomfortably. “…yeah, pretty much. So, um, can I go hide now…?”

He waved her off, leaning tiredly against his desk. “I’ll…send him the wrong way if he comes looking for you, so just…go.”

“Thanks, KO,” she said quietly, picking Ravage up and walking quickly out of medbay.

 

Soundwave stalked to his quarters, having turned Autobot Ratchet over to Lord Megatron. Lazerbeak had told Fixit the host mecha had been rescued, but unfortunately also told the Eradicon just what Soundwave did in order to keep information from the Autobots. She hadn’t reacted well to the news, and was currently huddled underneath his berth with Ravage.

He strode in, locking the door behind him and his winged symbiont, and moved quickly to the berth, tossing his visor aside as he did so. The TIC sank down in front of it, bending over to look at the shaking ball of metal underneath.

“Fixit,” he called, reaching out with servos and tentacles to pull her to him. They ended up not being necessary, though, as she looked up instantly at the sound of his voice and proceeded to tackle him. Soundwave vented heavily, keeping one arm around her sobbing form as he moved them from the floor to the berth.

“Fixit, I’m alright, I’m fine. I wasn’t harmed, I’ve done this before without any side-effects,” he tried to sooth her, stroking her gently as she lay on him.

She pulled back slightly. “That. Does. Not. Help!” she hiccupped, smacking his chest with every word before burrowing back into him.

He winced, realizing there wasn’t a whole lot he could do to calm her down. The best thing he could do, at this point, was probably just hold her for as long as she needed.

And that was what he did, Lazerbeak and Ravage jumping up to join their cuddle pile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, what is it with Fixit and attracting trouble? Poor femme…


	45. Beginning of the End

_“It is my wish…that you use one of your chances on Optimus Prime.”_

_“Wait, he_ dies?”

 

Fixit slid into medbay, dashing to hide behind Knock Out’s desk. Ratchet and Shockwave just stared as KO vented in exasperation, rubbing his helm. The red doctor walked over to the doors, ignoring the mechs behind him.

“Fix-?!”

“Shh, not here!” she hissed, attempting to become one with the floor.

“And why, exactly, are you looking for my Apprentice?” Knock Out questioned, leaning against the door.

“It is none of your business,” Predaking said, just out of view.

“Except for the fact that I am the closest thing to a creator Fixit has, and if you harm him, I will make you wish you were in the Pit!” KO snarled, revving his saw threateningly. Both Ratchet and Shockwave were taken aback by the sheer protective fury in the vain mech’s voice.

“You-” the dragon sounded startled.

“Fixit is busy working right now, come back later.” The Aston Martin shut the doors in the Predacon’s face, locking them immediately. He huffed irritably, turning around to walk over to his desk. 

“Thanks, KO,” the Eradicon said gratefully, standing up to hug his arm gingerly. (Scratching his paint was a Bad Idea.)

“Just…work,” he growled at his Apprentice, pointing at the massive piles of broken things on her desk.

“Sir yes sir!” she saluted cheerfully, bouncing over to plop down on her stool.

“Wha-?” Ratchet gaped.

“Why is Predaking looking for you?” Shockwave demanded, causing the two Decepticon medical personnel to wince. They glanced at each other.

“I’m not explaining this, it’s your problem after all,” KO threw his servos in the air, walking back to his previous position.

Fixit scowled at him. “Gee, thanks. Umm…you want the long or short version?”

“I want answers,” Shockwave moved to loom over her. She shifted back slightly, allowing an uneasy look to cross her face because Ratchet was there. (The Decepticon Head Scientist had been notified earlier of the basics about her interactions with the Autobots, and how she would act differently if the prisoner was in the room. He didn’t particularly care, and so was ignoring it.)

“…Predaking is courting me.”

The Eradicon then snickered softly as Ratchet choked and Shockwave twitched.

“…that is illogical, why would he be courting you?” The one-opticed mech sounded honestly confused and frustrated.

“He thinks I’m a femme, and wants to use me to produce more Predacons the slow way,” she said non-chalantly, flippantly waving a servo in the air as she slid off her stool to round the table to reach a tool, letting her frame relax slightly as she gained distance from Shockwave.

“He wants to use you as a brood mare!?” Ratchet exclaimed in horror, staring at the Eradicon he had come to like over the course of her captivity.

“Yeah, pretty much. Except he wants to disguise it by making me his mate. Whoo…oh, hey, where is…?” Fixit got distracted searching for a missing tool, which meant she didn’t see the hilarious stunned expressions on Shockwave and Ratchet’s faces. Knock Out did, though, and had a hard time suppressing his laughter.

“Grr…stupid Roombas stealing my tools…KO, I’m gonna leave now, ‘kay?”

“Yes yes, begone before the dragon realizes you left,” he flapped his servo at her as she headed to the door. She paused beside it, listening, before opening it and sprinting away down the halls.

Ratchet and Shockwave just stared after her, KO desperately trying to not laugh aloud.

 

Fixit and Lazerbeak were plotting together on the bridge, totally ignoring the computer simulation showing the Earth being cyberformed. They concluded their planning with a quiet shared cackle, and tuned back in to hear Lord Megatron speak to Starscream.

“Starscream, you did destroy the Autobot base, did you not?” the Lord inquired through gritted denta. 

Fixit leaned back warily as Lazerbeak flew back to his host, reattaching himself to the TIC’s armor.

“With great fervor, my Lord. Why do you ask?” Creamer replied, puzzled. 

The Eradicon could see where this was going, and started edging towards Soundwave- aka, safety.

“Because Lazerbeak’s frequency has been detected on radar.”

“What?” Fixit started, her outburst going ignored.

“But that’s not possible,” Creamer mused, baffled. “He’s right here in Soundwave’s torso.”

_‘On’ Soundwave’s torso, not ‘in.’ Honestly Creamer, get it right,_ she thought irritably, only her helm poking out from behind Soundwave’s shoulder now. The TIC turned his helm to glance at her, amused by her actions. She stuck her glossa out at him, ignoring Megatron and Creamer arguing in the background.

 

Fixit was making her rounds, checking to make sure that none of the Vehicons were hiding any injuries from her, when Knock Out commed her to let her know Ratchet had escaped. He had been caught by Lord Megatron pretty quickly, but KO needed her help to start production of the Synth En.

He shut off the comm before the Eradicon could ask what was going to happen to Ratchet, which was probably for the best. The Autobot doctor was the enemy, no matter how much she might personally like him. 

Didn’t mean her conscience was going to stop nagging her anytime soon, though…

 

“Shoo, you little scrap heaps! Go on, get! The Omega Lock needs to be in position yesterday!” Fixit cried, ushering Vehicons into action.

Everyone jumped at a loud crash, as well as the sound of weapons fire. They drew their weapons, Fixit somehow getting shoved to the back by overprotective Roombas. And then Predaking burst into view, ripping apart all the Vehicons in his way.

The Eradicon yelped as someone shoved her to the ground, standing over her as they futilely shot the enraged dragon. The Predacon destroyed all the Vehicons in the hall quickly, including the one standing over Fixit, but not before he managed to get a brief transmission out to Lord Megatron.

Predaking stared down at Fixit, who was frozen in fear. The dragon bent down, ignoring her flinch, and wrapped his arm around her waist, hauling her up roughly.

“Did you know?” he asked, staring at her intently.

“K-know w-what?” she stuttered, bracing her servos against his chest as she leaned away as best she could whilst dangling in the air.

“That Megatron ordered the death of my people.”

“…yes,” she admitted, ducking her helm in shame.

The dragon growled, his arm tightening painfully about her waist. “And you did nothing!?”

“There wasn’t anything I could do!” she shouted at him, helm snapping up to glare at him. “Disobeying would’ve only ended in me being included in the fraggin’ genocide!”

He bared his denta at her, but thought over her words, taking in her honestly upset and disgusted visage. “…you did not agree with their deaths.”

“I would never agree with the death of an innocent,” she hissed, showing him her own denta as she started shaking. “But what I think has never mattered. Ever.”

“…who knows you are a bearer?”

She shuttered her optics in confusion at the sudden non sequitor. “Uh…I guess just Soundwave and Starscream. Which is all Creamer’s fault,” she muttered, seemingly forgetting the danger she was in momentarily.

“What do you mean?” Predaking asked, beginning to move down the hall as he held her a little too tightly for comfort. Her frame creaked occasionally from the pressure.

She hesitated, glancing up at him. “I…wasn’t exactly conscious when Creamer forced my chestplates open and saw my spark.”

Predaking froze, helm snapping to stare at her. “He forced you!?”

Fixit winced at her memories. And the crunch of metal that accompanied his reflexive tightening of his arm. Ow. “…unfortunately, he wasn’t the first to do so.”

He stared darkly at her. “…why did you not inform me of Megatron’s involvement in my people’s deaths?”

She rested her helm against his chest in defeat with a heavy vent, all the fight going out of her. “…because all it would’ve done was offline you and hurt me more,” she whispered.

The dragon regarded her thoughtfully, even as he smashed through more Vehicons with his free arm. The occasional body part pinged off her frame, denting and scraping it further. “Fixit…how long have you been with the Cons?”

She glanced up at him, suppressing a grimace of pain. “…somewhere around five stellar cycles, I think. Why?”

“Did you join them of your own free will?” he asked gravely.

The Eradicon froze, going silent for a long while as he ripped his way through the halls, never giving her a chance to escape his (literally) crushing grasp. “…no,” she admitted finally, so quiet Predaking almost didn’t hear her. “I didn’t. I just…woke up one cycle in the body of a drone, with no clue as to how I got there.”

He tightened his grip on her waist (which made a crunching noise), glancing down at the tired, unhappy femme...and made a decision. “Rest, Fixit. I will make everything well.”

And then he grabbed a wire in her neck, sending her into unconsciousness as his claws scraped her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> …can anyone tell where this is going? Because it’s certainly happened before.


	46. Everything goes to the Pit

_“Because, obviously, no one’s going to find it suspicious when dead people suddenly start rising from the grave after I mess with them.”_

 

Fixit groaned as she clawed her way back to consciousness, but was silenced by a servo over her mouth.

“Shh,” someone familiar-sounding shushed her. “Can you walk?”

She opened her optics…and stared in shock at Dreadwing. The Seeker was crouching over her, looking more than a little worse for wear, and kept scanning his surroundings nervously.

“Dreadwing?” she croaked quietly, staring up at him. “Wha-?”

“We need to leave now, Fixit. I only managed to get you away from the Predacon because Megatron, Knock Out and Starscream came along and distracted him. If he comes back, I won’t be able to prevent him from taking you again and offlining me. Now get up!”

The Eradicon immediately struggled to her pedes, leaning heavily on the Seeker as he dragged her off down the halls.

“What…are you…” Fixit breathed, her sense of balance almost completely shot. Apparently Predaking damaged even more of her systems when he knocked her out.

“Later,” Dreadwing promised, still incredibly twitchy. “We need to get out of here first.”

She whimpered in pain as her helm pounded, shuttering her optics and reluctantly following the Seeker’s lead.

 

The two flyers hobbled to the escape pods as the Nemesis rumbled ominously, entering the space bridge. Dreadwing was half-carrying the Eradicon by now, who was wobbling dangerously.

“Come on, Fixit, almost there,” he grunted, hauling her into one of the two escape pods left. He placed her down on the floor, crouching over her as he hit the eject button. “Stay awake!”

She just moaned blearily, swimming in and out of consciousness.

 

Fixit stirred as something crunched quietly towards her. She onlined her optics groggily, shuttering them a few times before she was able to focus on the big blue Seeker kneeling next to her.

“Status report,” Dreadwing demanded, holding her down with a heavy servo on her shoulder when she tried to sit up.

“Um…” she ran a diagnostic. “Minor hit to the helm, crushed midsection armor plates, minor fuel tank punctures, damaged cooling system, cracked right forearm strut, fractured right optic, couple of severed left ankle cables, and various dents and scrapes. Mostly pretty straight-forward repairs, simple if you know what you’re doing and have the proper supplies…which we don’t, do we?” she stated, looking the Seeker in the optics.

He vented heavily. “No. We do not.”

The Eradicon frowned. “Okay, then…I think I can make do for most of it, but the hit to the helm is what most concerns me, since I can’t see/repair it myself…I’d need either Knock Out or Ratchet for that. The rest of my injuries I can patch myself.”

Dreadwing scowled, moving to sit against the wall above her helm. “Unfortunately, we’re on our own for now. I am also injured, and cannot transform into my alt mode. The Predacon is lurking around somewhere between us and the Autobots, who are almost a third of the way across Cybertron from us. We have little to no resources, although I did manage to obtain enough energon to maintain us for several orns from the Nemesis’ stores.”

Fixit shuttered her optics, bringing her left arm up to lay it across her face. “…great. Just…great.”

 

The Eradicon leaned into Dreadwing’s side, his arm wrapped around her waist. Her cooling/heating systems weren’t working very well, if at all, and she had almost froze that first night. Since then, she had been sharing (re: leeching) the Seeker’s heat during the nights. 

It was morning, now, but Dreadwing was still recharging. Fixit stared out at the newly-revitalized Cybertron. There were still ruins- they were currently camped in the middle of one of the taller ones- but the planet itself had been revived. It was…beautiful. She could see why Ratchet had been so desperate to bring it back.

 

“So…”

Dreadwing looked up from where he was surveying the city below them.

“Are you ever going to tell me why you were there to save me from Predaking?” Fixit asked slowly, frowning at the big blue mech. “Not that I’m not grateful, but…”

He vented, moving from his perch to sit in front of her. “…I was contacted by Autobot Jazz.”

She sat up straight, staring thoughtfully at him as she listened.

“The Autobots were planning to make one final assault on the Nemesis, for the Earth’s survival. While everyone else was preparing, Jazz contacted me and asked me to infiltrate the ship whist they were attacking. He wanted me to get you out of the way, to make sure you would not be harmed in the chaos.”

Fixit shuttered her optics in astonishment. “He…really? Wow, that’s…I wasn’t expecting that,” she admitted quietly, trailing off as she thought.

Dreadwing snorted. “Which is a major reason why I accepted. I may not have talked to you much on the Nemesis, but I do remember your surprise every time someone did something for you solely out of concern for your wellbeing. Especially when they remembered your recharging and refueling habits when you did not,” he added dryly, giving her an admonishing look.

She flushed. “Recharge is for the weak,” she muttered rebelliously, causing the Seeker to vent in exasperation.

“And yet you scold everyone else whenever they don’t get enough,” he pointed out, raising his brow at her.

“…that’s different.”

“If you say so, Fixit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of TV episodes. Next up, the movie!  
> And look, I brought Dreadwing back! Whoo!


	47. Getting their Bearings (Also, Movie Starts)

_“I just hope you never encounter my brother on the battlefield, youngling.”_

_“…me neither, but why-?”_

_“-am I so worried? Because Unicron would immediately be able to tell you are one of my chosen, and make your offlining one of his priorities.”_

 

Fixit gazed out at Cybertron from her perch, basking in its beauty...

“Fixit! Get down from there before you fall!” Dreadwing yelled up at her from the ground, worried. The hit to her helm had damaged more systems than they had first thought, including her balance gyros…which only worked erratically. Most of the time, she was perfectly fine, but then they would seize up and the Eradicon would stumble and fall. It had scared the Seeker out of his processor the first time it happened, since she had also been perched up high. Sheer luck was the only reason he had managed to catch her, with only minimal additional injuries for the both of them.

The Eradicon whined, but complied, carefully working her way back down. She missed the sky, slag it!

 

She muttered to herself as the two flyers picked their way through the city. Since neither of them could fly right now, they had to travel to the Autobots on foot…which was less than fun, especially since Dreadwing was a horrible navigator and kept getting them lost!

Not that she was much better right now...it was a different planet with completely different topography and constellations, okay? She didn't even know where to begin orienting herself!

 

Fixit cowered closer to the big blue seeker as they huddled under some wreckage, hiding from the two Predacons wandering around. Neither of them was Predaking, which was the reason the femme was so scared. She had gotten lucky with Predaking’s insistence on courting her before taking her as his mate- other Predacons would likely not be so considerate. Particularly these two, considering the way they were acting right now.

Dreadwing tightened his arm around the Eradicon, attempting to reassure her. At least the Predacons didn’t seem to know they were here.

 

“This sucks,” Fixit sulked as stumbled along with the Seeker’s help. He just grunted, more focused on scanning their surroundings for threats…

Dreadwing abruptly threw them to the side, covering the Eradicon with his frame as Predaking fell to land right in front of them. 

The dragon transformed, snarling. “YOU! GET AWAY FROM MY FEMME!!!”

“NO!” Fixit yelled, shoving Dreadwing aside to cover him with her own frame. “LEAVE HIM ALONE!”

“Fixit-!” the Seeker started.

“HE TOOK YOU FROM ME!” Predaking roared, stalking forward.

“YOU HURT ME!” she screamed, causing him to stop in his tracks.

He gazed at her in confusion and shock as she shook, glaring at him in fear. “Wha-?”

“W-when you grabbed me and later knocked me out, you h-hurt me,” Fixit bit out, carefully keeping herself in front of Dreadwing.

“I didn’t-”

“A major hit to the helm, crushed midsection armor plates, minor fuel tank punctures, cracked right forearm strut, fractured right optic, couple of severed left ankle cables, my balance gyros only work occasionally, and my cooling system is completely busted. All of these injuries are ones I got from you. If Dreadwing hadn’t saved me, you probably would’ve offlined me.”

Predaking stared at her in shock and remorse, optics flitting over her frame as he took in all the damage. He took a small step back, realizing just how badly off the femme was. “…I did…I didn’t mean to…”

Fixit vented heavily, still watching him warily. “Which is a small relief, but doesn’t mean I’ll ever feel safe around you. Especially when you’re mad.”

The dragon just stood there, horrified at what had happened to the Eradicon. Slowly, he dropped to his knees, bowing his helm. “…I am so sorry, Fixit. I-I never meant to hurt you…and…I understand if you never want me around you again,” he added reluctantly, unable to meet her optics.

She rubbed her helm, gesturing with her servo for Dreadwing to keep quiet. “I…will never agree to be your mate, now, but…so long as you keep your temper in check, I do not object to your presence.”

His helm snapped up, both he and Dreadwing clearly startled. “What!?” the Seeker cried, grabbing her shoulder and causing Predaking to growl.

“Oh stop it, both of you!” she snapped. “Predaking, you’re someone I could easily befriend and come to see as a brother. Dreadwing, same for you. I am not interested in either of you as a mate in any way, shape or form! So stop it!”

Both of the mechs winced, but reluctantly agreed to behave, although they were still glaring at each other.

“Oh, and Predaking? You don’t need me to bring back your people, there’s already some other Predacons running around,” she added, carefully getting back on her pedes with the blue Seeker’s assistance.

“WHAT!?!”

 

Predaking obviously wanted to go search for the other Predacons- and Dreadwing just as obviously wanted him to go- but the dragon refused to leave until he was sure Fixit was safe and as well as could be. If Fixit hadn’t been used to such over-the-top protectiveness from Soundwave, she would’ve lost her temper a long time ago. As it was, even she was getting a little tired of it…

At least the dragon had enough energon on him so that, combined with their own stores, they didn’t have to worry about starving to death for fifteen orns.

 

Fixit purred happily in her recharge, nestled in between Predaking and Dreadwing as the two attempted to ignore each other. So warm…

 

The Eradicon laughed and laughed as the Seeker and the dragon cursed. They had fallen into something sticky, which had then dried and left them stuck together. Watching them shuffle around, usually falling over, was the funniest thing she had seen in a long time.

 

**“Fixit…”** the mechs warned in unison, glaring at her as she desperately tried not to laugh. They had found something that dissolved the substance binding the two together…but it turned them both pink and sparkly whilst doing so.

She lost the fight, bursting out into laughter as she ran for her fraggin’ life from the furious and embarrassed mechs.

 

“…Fixit?” Predaking said quietly, staring up at the sky as night fell. It had been several orns since the dragon had found Fixit and Dreadwing, and they had slowly been working their way towards the Autobots so the two seekers could get repairs.

The Eradicon opened her optics, looking up from where she was snuggled in between the two other flyers. “Yeah?”

Dreadwing glanced over, but chose to remain silent. He and Predaking would never really like each other, but they had learned to get along for Fixit’s sake.

“…I find myself…relieved that you refused my advances,” the Predacon confessed, looking down at her. 

She cocked her helm inquiringly. “Okay…”

He vented heavily, looking back up at the sky. “You were correct...if you had become my mate, I would likely never have truly cared for you, no matter how much I deceived myself into thinking otherwise. Your…memorable personality would have always been overshadowed by the fact that you were the means of restoring my people.”

“…about time you realized it.”

He huffed slightly in amusement. “And quite honestly, I think you will be a better brother to me than a mate. Even after just a few orns, I can’t imagine having you as anything other than a sibling anymore. You are too…obnoxious.”

“Hey!” Fixit exclaimed mock-indignantly as Dreadwing laughed in startled agreement. “I resemble that remark!”

 

“Majesty, just go already. I’m not going to offline the moment you take your optics off of me,” she said tiredly, leaning her helm against the wall.

“I don’t- wait, Majesty?” the dragon was puzzled by her nickname for him. Dreadwing looked at her curiously as well.

“You named yourself ‘Predaking,’” she informed him dryly. “As your sibling, it is my duty to tease you mercilessly about that for the rest of your existence. Now shoo, go establish your dominance over the rest of your people.”

Predaking rolled his optics, before glancing over at Dreadwing. “Very well. Take care of him.”

“I can look after myself,” she muttered.

**“No you can’t,”** the Seeker and the dragon replied in unison, causing her to pout.

“Meanies…”

“I will take care of her,” Dreadwing assured the Predacon, resting his servo on the Eradicon’s shoulder. He refrained from adding a snarky comment at the dragon’s expense- it wasn’t worth the retribution from Fixit.

Predaking eyed him with a touch of annoyance, no doubt picking up the unsaid words, but he let it slide as he stood up. “I will meet you at the far edge of the Sea of Rust. Be safe.” And with that, he transformed and flew off.

Dreadwing and Fixit watched him go enviously. They were tired of being stuck on the ground…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So none of the three- Dreadwing, Predaking, or Fixit- know what happened to the Decepticons, besides the fact that the Autobots won. And hey, I resolved the problem I made with Predaking courting Fixit!  
> (Because I originally had something different planned for him, but I the more I wrote him the more I liked him, so I came up with this quickly.)


	48. Reunions

_“…youngling?”_

_“Yes?”_

_“Why am I dressed in a giant hot dog suit?”_

_“Do you_ really _want to know?”_

_“…nevermind then.”_

 

“Optimus Prime would deem it a tragedy to stain Cyberton’s fresh soil with any newly-spilled energon. So help us prove what Megatron was never willing to, that more than one race can peacefully coexist on our planet,” Bumblebee pleaded with Predaking as the dragon scowled at him.

“You assume that because I turned against Megatron, I can forgive the Autobots their role in the destruction of my brethren on Earth? You are a fool. Leave me be and dare not trespass here again.” Predaking turned away, dismissing them.

Disappointed, they turned to leave…but were called to wait by the dragon.

“What is it?” Bee asked, looking up at the Predacon.

“You will never be welcome here,” he growled at the bot’s hopeful look. “But my offended pride almost caused me to forget about Fixit and her pet Seeker. They require medical assistance.”

“Fixit’s hurt!?” Bee and Jazz exclaimed, the other Autobots who knew the femme also concerned.

“Who’s Fixit?” Sideswipe asked, speaking for the rest of the new arrivals.

 

“Ah’ll take ta Twins an’ go get Fixit,” Jazz told Bee. “You take the rest of ’em an’ go ta Darkmount. We need ta find Shockwave’s labs.”

Bee pouted- he wanted to find Fixit! The Eradicon always had the most amusing reactions to his over-exaggerated innocence- but agreed. “All right, good luck.”

The two groups went their separate ways, the Twins asking Jazz as they drove off who Fixit was.

 

Fixit stared out at the city as she stood motionlessly on top of a ruin. She knew it was dangerous for her to be up here with her damaged systems, but…she missed the sky, fraggit!

She shuttered her optics, leaning her helm back. It’d been three cycles since they’d last seen Predaking, and she and Dreadwing had only just arrived at the rendezvous point. The dragon wasn’t due to show up for at least another cycle. The Eradicon vented heavily…and then almost jumped as Dreadwing yelled at her from below to get down. Almost.

“No! Don’t wanna!” she cried back, attempting to delay the inevitable.

“FIXIT, GET DOWN HERE NOW BEFORE YOU FALL AND OFFLINE YOURSELF!!!” the Seeker roared. Apparently he’d been taking lessons from Predaking.

“BITE ME!”

“I’LL GET PREDAKING TO DO IT FOR ME WHEN HE GETS BACK, NOW GET DOWN!”

“GO ROT IN THE PIT, YOU GLITCHED GLIDER!”

“YOU’LL BE THE ONE RUSTING IF YOUR GYROS FREEZE UP AND YOU FALL TO YOUR FRAGGING DEATH!”

“WELL AT LEAST THEN I WON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOU AND PREDAKING SNIPING AT EACH OTHER!”

“IF YOU OFFLINE BECAUSE OF STUPIDITY, WE WILL FOLLOW YOU TO NAG YOU FOREVER!”

“THAT WOULD MEAN YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH PREDAKING FOREVER!”

“THEN WE’D SNIPE AT EACH OTHER UNTIL THE PIT KICKED US BACK OUT FOR ANNOYING IT, AND DRAG YOU WITH US! NOW GET DOWN HERE!”

She cussed him out, but started climbing down, swearing the whole way.

 

Jazz laughed as he listened to Dreadwing and Fixit yell at each other, although the comment about her gyros concerned him.

“Okay, I really want to meet him now,” Sideswipe grinned, bouncing on his pedes. Sunstreaker looked like he didn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. Finally, he settled on amusement.

“The femme likes pranks, you said?” he asked, craning his golden helm to watch the Eradicon descend.

“Oh yeah,” Jazz smirked, sending them an image file. “OP said that he even turned Knock Out into a human ballerina.”

The Twins froze, staring at him…and then burst out laughing.

“Oh, this is going to be awesome!” Sideswipe gasped, already plotting.

 

“Normally I wouldn’t say this, but…I told you so,” Dreadwing informed Fixit as he gave her a piggyback ride.

“My gyros froze up after I got down to the ground, I didn’t fall off the building,” she said grumpily, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“And if you hadn’t come down then, you would have fallen off the building.”

“Shut up.”

“And injured yourself further.”

“Shut. Up.”

“And possibly wandered into-”

“Dreadwing!” Fixit wailed, burying her face in the back of his neck. “Shut up!”

“Wandered inta what?” Jazz asked, stepping out from behind a building and causing the two flyers to jump.

“Jazz!” the Eradicon cried happily, straightening.

“Finally,” Dreadwing muttered, thoroughly fed up with the entire situation.

 

“Fixit!” Ratchet cried in concern, hurrying over to her. “What the slag happened to you!?”

She chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her helm. “Long story…hey Magnus, hey Prowl.”

Ultra Magnus nodded at her, keeping a wary optics on Dreadwing, who had come in after her along with Jazz. The Twins hadn’t dared come near the Hatchet’s lair, and promised instead to meet up with her later.

Prowl offered her a small, but genuine, smile. “It is good to see you again, Fixit.”

She grinned at him happily, even as Ratchet pushed her over to a table and began scanning her.

“And you, sit down before I make you!” the doctor snapped at the blue Seeker, who wasn’t much better off than the Eradicon.

He snorted, but complied. Dreadwing’s lips quirked fondly as he watched Fixit bounce slightly in place, clearly happy to see the Bots again.

 

Fixit froze in horror as she listened to the Bots sent to Darkmount report.

Unicron was here.


	49. Why Can't Hiding be an Option?

_“I think you will find certain relics work better for you than others, youngling. Especially with the gift I am giving you.”_

 

“Fixit!” Bumblebee glomped Fixit happily as soon as the briefing ended. She laughed, hugging him back and ignoring the disapproving/confused looks from the other new arrivals.

_And yet more evidence of me changing the plot…let’s see, there’s Mirage, Hound, and…Bluestreak? Oh sweet Primus no, Bee and Ryan are bad enough, now I have to deal with Bluestreak’s puppy eyes as well!? I am so fragged!_

 

“…Hey Magnus?”

He looked up at the Eradicon as Ratchet and Dreadwing argued with Prowl in the background. “Yes?”

She hesitated. “Um…I know this might seem like kind of weird, but…do you know where the Forge of Solus Prime is?”

He shuttered his optics in confusion. “…Predaking destroyed the Forge. The pieces are in storage with the rest of the relics. Why?”

“…thank you,” she muttered. “I just…I have a feeling we’re going to need even the pieces of it.”

 

The Eradicon vented heavily as she looked down at the pieces of the Forge. _I had hoped I would never have to use this one of Primus’ gifts…_

 

Fixit shivered nervously as they watched the horde of Terrorcons move across Hydrax Plateau. Ratchet, Ultra Magnus and Dreadwing had all been dropped off at a safe location. The only reason she wasn’t with them was the fact that, despite her injuries, she was most qualified to operate the Nemesis, thanks to always hanging out around Soundwave. Also, she was technically still a Decepticon officer, with Soundwave’s access codes (he didn’t know she had them- she had learned them by accident and vowed to use them in emergencies only).

And Primus, she missed her creeper…the moment this was over, she was going to stop at nothing to find him.

Prowl gripped her shoulder tightly, attempting to reassure her as he stood next to her, ready to coordinate their attack. She gave him a small smile, but it vanished quickly as she turned back to the controls.

The Eradicon was just glad Knock Out had turned against Starscream. If Creamer had succeeded in taking back the Nemesis, there was no way anyone would’ve survived the onslaught of Terrorcons. Everyone had to work together, or no one would survive. And Creamer wasn’t exactly known for his teamwork…

 

Fixit cursed as she stumbled out of the Nemesis with Bumblebee’s help, leaning heavily on the slightly smaller bot.

“Here, you can stay here with Bluestreak,” Bee said, gently placing her down next to the sniper. “He’ll take care of you.”

Blue nodded his helm vigorously as Bee ran off to help the others. “Yep! I’ll make sure nothing gets you, and you can help me find targets to hit, and-”

“I can take care of myself,” she interrupted. Then she smiled gently as his doorwings drooped. _Fraggin' adorableness..._ “But I would like some help in doing so. I’ll watch your back if you watch mine, yeah?”

The Praxian immediately perked up. “Okay!”

She tuned out his chatter in favor of focusing on the battle. She shuttered her optics, glanced at the still-talking sniper, and huffed a small laugh. _He was shooting the entire time…_

 

The Eradicon shot every Terrorcon that came near her and the Praxian sniper, but eventually they got too close.

“Fixit-!” Bluestreak cried in alarm.

She whirled to see a Terrorcon about to decapitate her from behind…

**Clang.**

Blue gaped as she pulled the newly-repaired Forge of Solus Prime out of subspace to block the blow, it lighting up at her touch like it had only done for Primes before. She swung it round, taking out a swath of Terrorcons.

“Blue, focus!” she shouted, wobbling slightly as she slid into a fighting stance. _Thank Primus Breakdown saw fit to teach me how to use a hammer in combat…although I don’t think he ever planned on me using a hammer almost my size! Especially whilst injured!_

“R-right!” The Praxian focused back on providing supporting fire for his comrades, trusting Fixit to watch his back.

 

“Blue, we’re going to be overrun, we need to go!” Fixit called, smashing Terrorcons left and right.

“Okay…” he shot a couple more times. “Alright, we’re good, let’s go!”

 

“Sunny!” Sideswipe called out to his brother, desperately fighting his way towards the surrounded mech.

And then, just as a Terrorcon was about to get the vain mech from behind, a massive hammer came out of nowhere and crushed the attacker. Fixit, in spite of wielding such a massive weapon, almost looked like she was dancing as she worked with Sunstreaker to take out his opponents. Sideswipe and Bluestreak reached the two at the same time, immediately turning to fight in a defensive formation.

“Where the frag did you get a hammer that big!?” Sideswipe sounded like he was torn between laughter and awe.

“I pulled it out of Sun’s aft, did you not notice?” the Eradicon called back, making Blue and Sides laugh while Sunstreaker scowled.

 

_Please don’t let Unicron notice me, please don’t let Unicron notice me, please don’t let Unicron notice me…_ Fixit chanted mentally as the Autobots were gradually forced together. She had already received some startled looks from the Bots who knew what the hammer she was wielding was.

“PRIME!” came the bellow across the battlefield. Everyone instinctively glanced around for Optimus…only to slowly realize Unicron’s attention was on the cringing Eradicon.

“Fraggit, why’d Primus have to choose me, I should’ve just said no when he approached me, fading into nothingness sounds so much better right now…” Fixit whimpered as the Terrorcons began to focus on their attacks on her.

Everyone stared at her for a nano-klick, but the battle quickly regained their focus, although they still cast bewildered glances at her from time to time.

_If we survive this, there’s going to be so many questions for me to answer…maybe I could run away?_

 

Unicron had almost made his way to her, his Terrorcons having separated her from the rest of the Autobots…and then his attention snapped to the sky as Magnus’ ship came into sight.

“Allspark,” he growled, totally forgetting about Fixit in favor shooting down the ship as Optimus Prime flew out.

_Good luck, Ryan._ The Eradicon turned her attention back to the battle as the Twins fought their way over to her, keeping her from being totally overrun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you some of the quotes were important. There’s also a very important one somewhere waaaaaay back within the first twelve chapters or so.  
> And I’ve hinted (in the quotes) at Primus giving Fixit ‘gifts,’ although I’m not sure she sees this one as a gift right now…  
> (FYI, she’s not actually a Prime, she just has some of their abilities. A chosen of Primus, to Unicron, automatically means Prime, even if that’s not entirely accurate.)


	50. Hollow Victory

_“Hello, youngling. It is nice to finally meet you in person.”_

_“Who the fuck are you?”_

_“I am Primus…and I have been watching you for some time.”_

 

“Nyah nyah nyah, can’t catch me,” Fixit taunted the Terrorcons as she smashed her way through them, distracting them from Arcee, Mirage and Hound as the three pulled Wheeljack and the Allspark from the wreckage of the ship. She caught a glimpse of Optimus as he flew overhead, but her attention was quickly diverted by the zombies attempting to rip her apart.

Although Unicron had been distracted by the Allspark and Optimus, his minions hadn’t. As such, they were still focusing their attacks on her…and she was beginning to slow. Her injuries hadn’t been fully repaired before the battle, and gaining new ones on top of her steadily worsening older ones just made her condition worse. She’d almost been offlined several times already, and only the quick actions of the allies around her had kept her online so far.

It was getting pretty dicey, though…

“Fixit!” Ironhide yelled in warning, just as she was hit from behind. The Eradicon stumbled and fell, quickly being covered in Terrorcons. She screamed in pain as they began ripping into her plating, vainly trying to bash them off of her.

The Forge was knocked out of her servo, and she lay pinned, helpless, as they started tearing her apart. She screamed and screamed…and then the attacks suddenly stopped.

Fixit curled up defensively as best she could, crying in pain. She was only dimly aware of someone dropping down beside her, shouting in panic, before darkness took her.

 

She whimpered, hurting all over. _Oh, ow…ow ow ow ow ow. That hurt._

“Fixit?” came a concerned voice, something landing on her shoulder.

“NO!” she choked, lashing out desperately, trying to get away. “Nonononononono!!!”

There was a lot of yelling, and weights on her limbs, holding her down. She panicked, flashing back to Knives and BlueJay, trapped in the past.

“Fixit, calm down, it’s okay!”

She continued thrashing, biting anything she could reach. And then suddenly all the weight was shoved off of her, letting her roll off whatever she was resting on. Her vision flickered in and out, she was surrounded, they were everywhere, she grabbed something sharp, accidentally cutting herself, huddling defensively in the corner.

One of the shapes- a darker purplish shape- crouched in front of her, motioning the other figures back. “He’s caught in a memory, this happened a couple of times before with Airachnid-”

She whimpered, cowering further. That name scared her for some reason.

“-crowding him is just going to make it worse. Fixit, hey, Fixit, look at me please?”

She hissed, not trusting the voice. It sounded concerned, no one was concerned for her, it was lying, it was going to hurt her. She determinedly shoved away Fixer’s protests otherwise, they were lying, they would hurt her.

“Fixit, please-! Fraggit, I wish Commander Soundwave was here, or Lazerbeak, or even Ravage, they could always calm him down.” 

The others sounded startled, raising their voices, but the familiar voice in front of her ignored them. Wait, familiar?

“Fixit, come on, please just focus on me. Calm down, you’re hurting yourself, if you lose too much energon you’re going to die, please, focus!”

She blinked blearily, her vision slowly improving. Why did she feel so weak?

“That’s it, Fixit, focus on my voice, calm down, come back. It’s okay, you’re alright. Focus.”

What-? But that- the voice- he was- but he can’t-

“Focus, Fixit. Calm down and focus.”

A Transformer? He didn’t- he had no face…

“Come on, Fixit. You can do it.”

“S-S-Stev-v-ve-e?” she asked shakily, her memories slowly trickling back.

He looked incredibly relieved. “Yeah Fixit, it’s me. I’m here, you’re okay. It’s alright.”

“W-w-wha-t-t-t…h-hap-p-pen-ned-d?” she questioned, beginning to lower the…scalpel?

“You don’t remember?”

“H-hurt-ts. S-slow. H-hard t-to-o t-thin-k-k.”

“…that would probably be because you’re bleeding out,” he said dryly, deliberately offering up his servo. “Can Ratchet and Knock Out fix you?”

She shrunk back, not recognizing the names. “W-who-o?”

“Ratchet and Knock Out, over there. Ratchet’s red and white, Knock Out’s just red. They fix people, just like you. Knock Out taught you how to fix people, remember?”

“…K-KO-O?” she said slowly, shuttered her optics rapidly. “H-Hatc-che-t-t?”

There was muffled laughter in the background as Ratchet groaned. “Really?”

She glanced over at them, relaxing as she finally got all of her memories back. She twitched, letting the scalpel drop from her servo to clatter on the ground, as the Eradicon reached out and grabbed Steve’s servo. “O-ow.”

He snorted, moving forwards to gently scoop her up into his arms. “Yeah, no kidding.”

“Right, all of you, out!” Ratchet scolded, ushering the crowd of bots out the doors. “There’s work to be done!”

Steve set her down softly on the berth, Knock Out pulling her into his arms as soon as the Vehicon let her go. The red doctor was shaking slightly as he clung to her, burying his helm in her shoulder, ignoring the damage to his paint.

“…you need to stop giving me spark attacks,” he muttered as she hugged him back.

“…sorry,” she murmured sheepishly as he pulled back, joining Ratchet in repairing the injuries she reopened in her panic attack.

 

Fixit froze, staring at Jazz and Prowl in shock. Optimus…didn’t make it?

…that fragger. How dare he be such a self-sacrificing idiot!? She was just glad Primus had prepared her for this possibility beforehand. She’d never let Ryan live this down.

 

“…Jazz?” she whispered, beckoning the black and white mech closer. The rest of her visitors were all distracted by Ratchet reaming out the Twins for covering all the berths in medbay with bubble wrap.

“Wha’ is it, Fix?” he asked, leaning in closer to her at her gesture.

“…where is Ryan’s body?”

He eyed her thoughtfully. “…why?”

She vented shakily. “Because…I think I can bring him back.”

 

Fixit slinked out of medbay when KO and Ratchet’s backs were turned. Optimus’ retrieved remains- courtesy of one visored spec. ops mech- were in a room just a couple of doors down, just in case. 

She and Jazz had agreed not to tell anyone of what she was trying just yet, especially since she wasn’t certain she could bring Ryan back. It had been almost an orn since the Prime had sacrificed himself, after all. He might’ve been gone too long for her to bring back.

The Eradicon hadn’t told Jazz everything- and she was pretty sure he knew that- but he was willing to do most anything to bring his leader back. But she wasn’t sure that he would be so willing to go along with the plan if he knew that if she tried and failed to bring Ryan back…her spark would be forfeit.

Then again, he probably had a good idea of the consequences anyway- she had made him promise, in case she failed, to find Soundwave and help the host mecha if he was still alive.

Fixit stepped into the room, meeting Jazz’s solemn gaze as she stepped over to the corpse on the berth.

“Ya sure about this?” he asked worriedly, grabbing her arm as she hoisted herself up onto the berth.

“…I have to do this, Jazz.” She met his gaze evenly. The Eradicon was scared out of her mind, but… “This is why Primus brought me here- to help his children…to fix it.”

He snorted at the lame pun, causing her to give a crooked grin. “Yah, well…when ya get back, Ah’ve got lotsa questions for you.” He released her arm, stepping back.

She vented resignedly. “…if I make it back.” And then she lay down on the Prime’s empty shell, a bright flash suddenly blinding the anxious Jazz.


	51. The Well of Sparks

_“Yeah…I don’t really give a shit.”_

_“…somehow, I had rather guessed that, youngling.”_

 

Rushing, swirling, too loud too loud _too loud!_

Fixit whimpered, her mind drawing in on itself…and then one of Primus’ chances kicked in, shielding her mind/spark from the multitude of others in the Well of Sparks.

_Ok, ow…well, this is…different._

None of the senses she used in life could be used here…and yet, somehow she could almost see a giant round well, filled to the brim with dancing, glowing, multi-colored sparks. She- okay, you know what? Trying to figure out words to use that didn’t involve the senses confused her too much, screw that. 

She ‘looked’ around in sheer disbelief, confidence dropping rapidly. How the frag was she going to find Ryan before her two chances from Primus were used up? The only reason she was able to find Ravage so fast way back when was because his spark had been right fraggin’ there. Optimus’…was nowhere to be seen.

_Well, might as well start somewhere…_ she thought resignedly, flitting down past the other sparks to begin search. 

A couple of them paused as she passed, sensing something…off, about her. Most dismissed it, but a few started following her. Not that Fixit noticed- she was too busy searching for Ryan to notice a few sparks within a multitude of others.

 

_Where the frag is he!?_

Fixit had searched everywhere, but she still couldn’t find Optimus. By this point, she had gained quite the trail of glowing ducklings, but was too frustrated to care right then.

_I’ve already used up one of my remaining chances, and I just started the second! I have to find Ryan soon! I refuse to give up!_

 

Her spark stilled, hovering in place. The ducklings floated around her curiously, a few daring ones drifting in closer…

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! WHERE THE FRAG IS HE!?!” she mentally screamed in frustration, spinning quickly in tiny furious circles and scaring most of the ducklings away. “FRAGGIT RYAN, EVEN IF I DON’T FIND YOU IN TIME, I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN EVENTUALLY AND THEN YOU SHALL PAY!!!”

“Whoa, you’re a femme? Fraggit TC, why are you always right?” one of the whiter sparks she hadn’t scared away whined to its bluish companion.

Fixit paused. “…you can hear me.”

“…yeah, duh. Wow, you must be really new if you didn’t know that.”

“Warp…” the blue one sounded exasperated. “Just leave him alone and let’s go.”

_Warp and TC? Where have I heard…oh, no way!_ “You’re Creamer’s trine mates!?!”

She could almost feel their attention snap back to her. 

“You knew Starscream?”

“Creamer?” Skywarp questioned, sounding incredibly amused.

“Warp, focus!”

She snickered. “Yep, I know the backstabbing glitch. I made him the most awesome high heels ever.”

“…”

She felt like rolling her optics. “Something female organics wear on their pedes to make them look ‘stylish.’ Creamer just looked stupid in the things.”

“Why would you put in him in organic pede coverings?” Warp questioned, drifting closer to her.

“Because we were based on a planet full of organics, which he hated with a fervent passion. Although he was amused by some of their entertainment…hey, do you know where Prime sparks go when they offline?” Fixit asked, suddenly struck by inspiration. Hah, bet Primus never expected her to do this. Stupid males, never asking for directions…

“Oh yeah, they go-”

“Why?” TC cut in, pulling his trine mate back slightly.

Her spark darkened in irritation. “I need to teach a certain Prime a lesson,” she snarled, already plotting ways to make Ryan suffer for worrying her.

The two other Decepticons took her irritation a different way, though.

“Alright, awesome! Come on, this way!” Warp shot off, Fixit closely following with an exasperated TC trailing behind.

 

“The Primes can come out and mingle, but most of them are unsociable old afts,” Warp told her matter-of-factly. TC was doing a very good impression of face-palming, for a glowing blue orb.

Apparently, most of the Prime sparks sequestered themselves away from the rest of the Well in a little…alcove-y thing. It was surrounded by a barrier that gently repelled any non-Prime sparks that attempted to get in.

Fixit glared mentally. Like frag Primus would’ve made this, the crabby afts probably were responsible for making this.

“Right, thanks for the help, Warp. See you…sooner or later. Preferably later,” she muttered, before shooting forward and ramming the barrier. It bent inwards, flexing, trying to push her back out. She endured, not letting up on the pressure, ignoring the startled cries of the gathering sparks behind her.

She pushed and pushed and pushed…and finally, she broke through, Primus’ gifts to her allowing her to pass through.

_Ugh, it’s like wading through Jello,_ she griped to herself as she waded deeper. “Ryan! Ryan, where are you!?”

 

_Frag frag frag frag frag! Where the frag is he?!? I’m halfway through my second fraggin’ chance already, stupid fraggin’ Jello that keeps me from getting anywhere quickly!_

“Ryan! Where are you!?” Fixit cried desperately, batting aside one of the afts that kept trying to push her back out. Most of the Prime sparks she had come across so far just hung back uncertainly, not sure what to make of the red, bleeding black spark with a white halo that felt like it had been touched by Primus. Two, though, were making her task even more difficult by constantly trying to push her back out. Fraggin’ Trion, fraggin’ Sentinel…

“Ryan!!! Optimus Prime!!! Get your fraggin’ aft over here!!!”

“…what?”

She whipped around to stare at the glowing white spark that was hovering hesitantly nearby. She lunged for her Ryan, only just beating Trion and Sentinel to him.

 

Optimus flinched away in fear as the angry, broken, scary spark wrapped itself around him, completely encompassing him just before Alpha Trion and Sentinel Prime could stop it-

“YOU CAN’T HAVE HIM,” Fixit snarled protectively, gripping him tightly to her, ignoring his shock at the contact between their souls. 

He was just frozen in astonishment as he suddenly knew her life, like she could see his…if she was looking. He could see her first birth, her first life, her twin’s betrayal, how she built herself a life out of nothing. How her happiness was taken away from her by her twin, again, how Primus saved her soul from the void, his task for her, waking up in a strange body in a strange, deadly place. How she learned to love that place, that life, the family she had made for herself again…the love she had never thought she would ever find…

…and how she was willing to give it all up to bring him back.

Optimus threw his energy into her as they approached the edge of the Well, the place where she had entered it in the first place. Together, their energy running down rapidly as Primus’ gift began running out, they clawed their way along.

They strained themselves, working together, completely in sync, only to falter just out of reach of escape. Optimus cursed, desperately trying to reach it…and Fixit’s resolve firmed.

Connected as they were, he realized what she was doing, but didn’t move fast enough.

Fixit threw him forward, shoving him the last little bit needed for him to break free. His spark broke through the edge as he reached out desperately, grasping, trying to reach her-

 

Painpainpainpainpain!!!

Optimus gasped as his spark slammed back into his body, his frame arching up involuntarily. He reeled, dimly aware of voices cursing in shock around him…

“…Fi-Fix…” he breathed weakly, feebly trying to turn his helm to look for his spark-sister. “…Fix-it…”

He started fading back into unconsciousness, but managed to turn his helm to the side. The last thing he saw for a while was an image that would haunt him for vorns to come.

The last thing he saw, was Fixit’s greying, lifeless frame, cradled in Jazz’s shaking servos.


End file.
